Day of the Ifrit
by Nisa Tunesque
Summary: Musa & Tegryn, Part 5: A new school year begins at Alfea, and a new threat looms to endanger the universe in the shape of an even more powerful Lord Darkar. Guest starring Heatherfield's finest, the WITCH girls! COMPLETE
1. A New Assignment

**Well, here we are, Part Five of the Musa & Teggy series. As always, for bios on any of my characters, please check out my forum bit. And yes, today (the 27th October) is Anyuna's birthday - Happy B-Day Yuni!!**

**Thanks go to: Spongey, for being the best little sister I never had. Liz (babywhale) for her helpful nuggets of WITCHy knowledge. Meg (Chibi Horsewoman) for writing some damn funny fanfics. Gabby, who always wants MORA! And last but not least, Tune, for being the best damn pixie ever.**

**Standard Disclaimer Type Thing: I don't own Winx. I don't own WITCH. But I do own Tegryn, the Starz and the good people of An-Chuan. So there.**

**Random Quote: Hey, this is mine. That's mine. All this is mine. I'm claiming all this as mine. Except that bit. I don't want that bit. But all the rest of this is mine. Hey, this has been a really good day. I've eaten five times, I've slept six times, and I've made a lot of things mine. Tomorrow, I'm gonna see if I can't have sex with something. **(The Cat, from Red Dwarf)

* * *

Alfea - it's a place that can't help but look beautiful. Even on the most dank and miserable days, it shines out like a magnificent beacon. Even if it was blanketed in a heavy, thick pea-souper of a fog, it would still look stunning. But when bathed in sunlight, the castle seems to take on an extra spark of energy - and today was no exception. 

It was early September, and the Alfea School for Fairies was bustling with activity as pupils old and new arrived to begin a new school year. Friends were excitedly chattering away, catching up on all the latest gossip and recounting what they got up to during the summer break. Freshers were being given grand tours of the school grounds as part of their induction. Mr Knut was hard at work putting the finishing touches to the flowerbeds in the still battle-scarred central courtyard, and Professors Du Four, Wizgiz and Palladium were looking on from the staffroom window as they often did at induction day, but this time hoping for a little less school-threatening drama than the last couple of years.

Away from all the hubbub, the number 35 leva-bus from Majix Central Levabus Station pulled up outside the main gates and, in amongst the fresh batch of new girls, a happy couple stepped off. Tegryn and Musa stood arm-in-arm and surveyed the castle, looking every inch the still-madly-in-love types, as though they had just arrived back from a magical honeymoon. Of course, being the newly-engaged fiancé and fiancée that they were, this was almost true.

"Well here we are Musie," Tegryn said, "Back to work!"

"As long as we don't have to work so hard this year. You know what they say - all work and no play..." she said, fixing Tegryn with a mischievous grin.

Tegryn smiled as he planted a soft, tender kiss on her lips. "Come on - the others will be wondering where we've been!"

And so they walked in through the gates, and as they approached the main door into the castle itself, they were greeted by the stern figure of Ms Griselda as she led a party of new pupils outside.

"Good morning Ms Griselda." Tegryn and Musa greeted politely in unison.

"And good morning to you too." she replied stiffly.

"And how is my all-time favourite vice-principal today?" Tegryn asked cheekily.

"Hmmph! In case you've forgotten Mr Devanallt, I'm the only vice-principal you've EVER had!"

"Well there you go then - no contest!"

The group of girls gathered behind her sniggered quietly at this cheeky banter. Ms Griselda shot them one of her 'shut up' looks before turning back to Tegryn.

"I trust you've spent the summer in a productive manner."

"Oh most certainly. We've been to Melody and..."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, I hope you've been practising your magic skills, especially those spells which I taught you."

Tegryn chuckled. "Actually I have - I think I've pretty much got the hang of them now, and I've even come up with one or two myself."

"Good, I'll look forward to reading about it. I expect to see an essay on my desk first thing Friday morning!"

"What?!" Musa said in astonishment. "Homework? Already!?"

"Yes, no less than 2000 words. He still has a lot of catching up to do." Griselda explained. "Don't forget, he barely made it through last year - I'll expect a lot better from now on!"

Tegryn groaned as Griselda's tour resumed. Luckily for him, a much more pleasant sight quickly showed up - it was Flora, who was accompanied by a younger girl with the same tanned skin, deep green eyes and sweet look in her face. The girl's light brown hair was fairly short, tousled like Tegryn's and slightly scruffy, and she was dressed in a pair of blue denim dungarees with a cartoony flower on the chest.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Flora said in her familiar honeyed voice.

"Well, apart from Grizzly hitting Teggy with an assignment before we've got in the front door, we're ultra-cool!" Musa replied, hugging her flower fairy pal for all she was worth.

"So who's your friend?" Tegryn asked.

"Guys, this is my little sister Delphinia..."

"Delphi" the girl interrupted.

"Ahem. **Delphinia **is starting at Alfea this year."

"Delphi!"

"Oh, that's so cool!" Tegryn said as he stuck out his hand in greeting. "We're very pleased to meet you, Delphinia!"

"Thanks. And... I really do prefer Delphi." she said as she started to whisper in his ear. "It's only Flora and my mom who call me Delphinia. Honestly, they're so stuck up about it! Anyways, I'd better go - wouldn't want to miss out on Grizzly's tour, now would I?"

Tegryn couldn't help smiling as they waved her off - sure, Delphi had the same eyes and looks as Flora, but he could tell already that was where the similarity ended. It was easy to see she was more bubbly and boisterous than her more mild-mannered big sister.

"Have the others arrived yet?" Musa asked as they walked together to the girl's dorm.

"Oh, they're all here already - you're the last ones to get here. Why ARE you so late anyway?"

Musa chuckled. "When we arrived back in Majix, Teggy wanted to prove that his sense of direction wasn't as lousy as it used to be so I let him lead the way... big mistake, HUGE!"

Tegryn blushed slightly.

"Huge? How come?" Flora asked, "Or don't I need to ask?"

"Well, it took us an hour to find the bus station, even though it's just around the corner from the teleport station, and when we did find it he got us on the wrong bus! Before we knew it, we were in Aquisates!"

"Oh dear," Flora said whilst trying to stifle a laugh. "It seems his bad sense of direction is starting to rub off on you! Perhaps I should lead the way from here - the others are all there waiting for you, and boy do they have some stories to tell!"


	2. Pixie Kisses

**Blimey, part 2 already? Doesn't time fly...**

**Thanks to: Chibi Horsewoman, babywhale, Lady NightSky and Gabby for their reviews.**

**No Thanks to: 4kids for giving Lord Darkar the most pathetic villain's voice ever.**

**Random Quote: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU NOW OWN LAND IN NEW YORK!** (ownapieceofamericaDOTcom confirming that I am now the proud owner of one square inch of St Lawrence County)

* * *

"Hey guys... look who finally decided to show up!" 

The Winx and Starz girls all looked up to see Flora standing in the doorway, along with Musa and Tegryn, fully laden with their bags, complete with big grins on their faces. Charlotte, as sharp as she always was, was first to her feet, beating everyone else to greet them with a huge hug which the couple were only too happy to return.

"Musa! Teggy! What took you so long?" she asked.

"Heh. Don't ask!" Musa chuckled as the rest of the gang gathered round to say their hello's, but this little get-together was quickly interrupted by Stella.

"Wow! Check out that rock!" she had suddenly blurted out. Everyone stopped and looked at her to see her pointing at Tegryn's left hand. There, on his fourth finger, sat a thick gold ring set with a round ruby - it was his engagement ring, and as always it perfectly complimented the ring which Musa so proudly wore on her own slender hand.

"Wow! That's gorgeous!" said Bloom as she grabbed his hand to get a closer look.

"Yeah, cool isn't it?" Tegryn replied. "Musa's dad gave it to me - it's the ring her mom gave to him when they got engaged... so I gotta be extra careful with this baby!"

"Ooh!" Layla cooed as she gazed at the shiny red gemstone. "So your future father-in-law approves then!"

"Sure does!" Tegryn replied happily, "And so do the rest of my family!"

"So you were able to go to Melody AND An-Chuan as well? Neat! So how's everyone there?"

"They're all good, especially Mei - she's totally stoked that she's gonna get a new sister! They all say a big 'Nihao', and they can't wait to see you all again."

"And what about Pui Yin?" Anyuna asked. "How did SHE take the news?"

"Thankfully, she was away visiting her own family in Shanghai." Tegryn said, breathing a huge sigh of relief as he did so. "I don't know how I would've broken it to her - she'd be totally devastated. I really wish she'd just let me go."

A slightly awkward silence fell across the room, one that was quickly broken by a familiar 'Eeep!'. Tegryn looked up to see a small black and white blur shooting across the room and into his arms. Laughing, he staggered backwards and playfully fell to the floor, as though his tiny friend really did have the strength to knock him off his feet.

"Polli!" he cried as he sat up, looking down at the baby pixie who seemed to be clinging onto him for dear life. "Did you miss me?" he asked as he cuddled her gently.

Polli looked up and nodded her head vigorously.

"Got a kiss for me then?" he asked her, pointing at his cheek. "Come on Polli, right there!" Smiling shyly, Polli fluttered up to face level and prepared to give him a little peck, but as she did so Tegryn quickly turned his head and gave her a little kiss on the lips.

"Heh... gotcha!"

Musa gasped in mock-shock. "Oh dear Polli, what are you gonna do now?"

Well, what's a baby pixie to do? Luckily Polli knew exactly what to do, responding in the most adorable way possible - giggling cutely, she started plastering Tegryn's face with kisses, much to the amusement of everyone in the room.

Kiss!

"Yes..."

Kiss! Kiss!

"Yeah, yeah, I..."

Kiss!

"Yes, I love you too Polli!"

Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

Everone in the room burst out laughing at the sight of Tegryn and Polli's little play-fight - there was even a little chuckle from Tune, who had taken her place next to Musa after giving her a warm greeting hug in her own very refined pixie-of-good-manners style.

Musa laughed hard along with the others. "So Yuni..." she asked Anyuna, still chuckling, "How was your holiday?"

"Oh yes, the holiday! I gotta say Teggy, that was a good call on that Ibiza place. We had an amazing time, especially the twins. Care to tell 'em the big news girls?"

"Big news?

Mimi and Nini stepped forward, beaming.

"Musa, Teggy..." Mimi started.

"...You'll never guess what?" Nini continued, before looking back at her sister. Right on cue, they shouted together.

"We're FAMOUS!"

Tegryn sat up, his eyes opened wide in surprise. "Famous? On Earth?"

"Uh huh!" the twins nodded, perfectly in time.

"How on Majix did you manage that?"

"Well, it all started when we arrived..."

* * *

Two Weeks Before

"Here, señoritas - Hotel Aurora!"

"Mutchas grassiyas senyer!" Anyuna thanked the taxi driver in the best broken spanish she could manage as she gave him the fare.

"No Yuni, it's **muchas gracias señor**... I think." Charlotte corrected her as she wiped her glasses.

The taxi driver laughed. "De nada muchachas! Adios!"

The girls waved as he drove away. Of course, being fairies they had no real need for taxis - they could've just magicked their way to the hotel... but how would they explain themselves if they opened a portal in the middle of the reception right in front of a crowd of non-magical guests, or fluttered in through the front door, fairy wings and all?

They checked out their surroundings - it was a smart neighbourhood just off the beach in San Antonio, perched on the coast of Ibiza by the shimmering azure blue of the Mediterranean Sea. The hotel itself was rather a smart place, as any four-star hotel should be - clean, tidy, with a fresh coat of white paint on the outside, and a large and rather plush looking pair of chrome-effect doors inviting them into a sleek, modern reception area. A grand circular staircase took pride of place off to one side of the large open space, from which they could see signs to a restaurant, a beauty salon, spa and various shops, and through the smoked glass windows, they could see a large open-air swimming pool which immediately caught the twins' eyes.

"Yes! They got a pool!" squealed Mimi as they raced out to get a closer look.

"I'm so there!" Nini replied excitedly.

Anyuna smiled. "Well, it would be nice to get our tans started straight away, right Charlotte?"

"Well, I guess..."

"Come on - don't you want to look totally babelicious for Riven?"

"Yes, but... well, I don't tan much though." she mumbled, seemingly ignoring her friends and staring at the pool, almost in terror. "Come on, let's go to our room and dump our stuff first." she said as she started to back away and go inside. The next thing the girls heard was a huge crash - Charlotte had bumped into a girl carrying a tray of drinks to the pool area.

"You IDIOT!" the girl screamed angrily. She was about their age, with dark roots showing through her bleached blond hair, and wearing a bit too much makeup - a nasty-looking little slapper (1) and no mistake, and when combined with that gaudy neon-pink bikini, she really was a sight to make your eyes water. "Look! You made me spill my drinks!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm really..."

"Shut it Speccy! Why don't you go and get your stupid little eyes tested?"

"Now wait just a minute!" Anyuna snapped, coming to the aid of her friend who was getting rather upset being at the receiving end of this major dose of verbals. "There's no need for that. It was just an accident, she didn't mean it."

"Bollocks! If she was watching where she was going..."

"Look, we'll pay for the drinks." Anyuna said as she reached into her purse and pulled out some money. "Let's just call an end to this, okay?"

The girl said nothing as she snatched the twenty-Euro note from Anyuna's hand, glaring at Charlotte as she did so. As they watched the girl march angrily back into the restaurant, Anyuna placed her arm around Charlotte - she noticed she was trembling slightly, and close to tears.

"Come on... let's go take a look at our room."

* * *

**1. Slapper**: _UK Slang_ An unpleasant female, usually one who wears so much makeup it looks as though it's been slapped on with a trowel. Often used for those who are particularly easy. 


	3. NoOne OutStarz the Starz

**Blimey, it's been a busy weekend, and so another week of drudgery begins... thank goodness for fanfics!**

**Thanks to: Chibi Horsewoman, Gabby and Spongey for their reviews. Sokai for adding this fic to her C2 thingy. Babywhale for FINALLY updating her fanfic. And Wales and Australia for dishing up one hell of a rugby match.**

**Random Quote: Hello, mother. I come bearing a gift. I'll give you a hint. It's in my diaper and it's not a toaster.** (Stewie from Family Guy)

* * *

"Whoa! Hey lads! Check... THAT... out!" 

The boys, who had been sat by the side of the pool chatting loudly with a group of girls (including the one who had yelled at Charlotte earlier), looked up to see a truly heavenly sight - there walking on the other side was a tall, shapely girl with sparkling eyes, a cute winsome smile and long black hair that flowed in the gentle sea breeze, dressed in a stunning silvery-white two-piece bikini with a matching light cotton sarong, and finished off with a silver bangle worn loosely around her left ankle. If angels wore swimsuits, they'd be hard pressed to outshine Anyuna.

The lads looked on, mouths wide open as she unfurled a towel and placed it on the ground, then untied the sarong and lay on her back as she got down to the serious business of sunning herself. She was quickly joined by the twins who, after chucking their things on the ground next to her, dived into the pool dressed in their own sporty two-piece costumes with 'MELODY!' emblazoned across the chest and a small musical note stamped on the hip.

"Come on Charlotte!" Mimi shouted at their friend, who was following them still dressed in the full-length lemon yellow summer dress she arrived in, and clutching a spanish phrasebook - after Anyuna's poor attempt at speaking the local lingo, she thought she'd better brush up.

"No, it's alright guys..." she replied nervously.

"Come on C, the water's great!" Nini said.

Charlotte shook her head. "Nuh-uh."

"Why not?"

"I, I, erm..." she stammered nervously, "I can't swim."

The girl who had shouted at her before sniggered when she heard this, and quietly got up from the beach towel she was sitting on.

"Nikki, what are you doing?" one of her friends asked.

"Shhh... watch this!" she whispered as she snuck up behind Charlotte. Without warning, she shoved her hard in the back, sending her head-first into the water.

"Come on Speccy (1), time for your swimming lesson!"

She laughed wickedly as Charlotte splashed fratically around in the pool before scrambling out as quickly as she could and standing at the side, frozen in shock, gasping, and staring at Nikki with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Mimi yelled, as Anyuna wrapped a towel around her friend and led her away. Nikki said nothing, but just carried on laughing as she exchanged high-fives with her friends.

"I can't believe she did that!" said Nini as she and her sister joined Anyuna and Charlotte.

"Yeah, that's well out of order!" Mimi added.

Charlotte said nothing but continued staring over at Nikki, who waved sarcastically at her before settling down on her stomach to continue her own spot of sunbathing.

"I'd love to get my own back on her." Anyuna muttered angrily. "Nobody does that to my friends and gets away with it."

"Yeah, but what are we gonna do - zap her in broad daylight?" Mimi whispered back.

By this time Charlotte had dried herself off as quickly as she could... and when you're a fairy with the power of fire magic on your side, that's QUICK. During this short time, her keen mind had cooked up a little plan of her own. A wry smile appeared on her face as she quietly placed a hand on the floor, all the while keeping a close eye on Nikki. At first nothing happened, but then Nikki popped her head up with a look of sudden discomfort and started sniffing, before yelping loudly in pain and standing bolt upright.

"Hey, what's up Nik?" the girl sitting next to her asked.

"More like what's up with this towel? It's burning me!" she yelled, holding her tummy gingerly - it had taken on a faint red colour.

Her friend sniggered. "How can a TOWEL burn you? What on earth are you talking about?"

Nikki held her beach towel up - there, right in the centre, was a large, round scorch mark. Her friends gasped as one of them placed their hand on the ground then quickly jerked it away - sure enough, there was a circle of heat, but strangely enough the area around it was still cool.

Charlotte let out a little giggle, as did most of the other hotel guests as they looked on. Nini leant over and whispered to her.

"That was you, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"Love your style Charlie!" Mimi said, beaming.

"Oh yes, that was a good one all right!" said Anyuna, trying her best not to burst out laughing as she stretched out on her back, blissfully unaware of the adoring looks she was getting from most of the male guests. "Maybe now we can get on our vacation."

* * *

Later that evening, the Starz were busy preparing for their first night out on the town, but as always an age-old problem had decided to rear its ugly head... 

"Arrrgh!"

"What is it Yuni?"

"Nini, I'm totally stuck here. Can you help?"

"Sure."

Nini looked on as Anyuna stood up in front of her.

"What do you think? The blue top and the red jeans, or the red top and blue jeans?"

Nini whistled through her teeth. "Ooh, that's a doozy, they both look good... couldn't you wear the blue top with the blue jeans?"

Anyuna laughed. "It's always with the blue with you, isn't it?"

"Guys... I think I might have a suggestion." Charlotte piped up. Up until that moment, she'd been standing at the window, quietly looking down onto the street below.

"A suggestion?"

"Uh-huh. You wanna know what to wear? Come take a look." she beckoned. The other three girls joined her at the window. There on the pavement outside the hotel was Nikki and the other girls, loudly heading off for their own night on the town.

"Um, you want us to look like THEM, with THAT make-up? No way!" Mimi said, looking quite shocked.

"Yeah, and I ain't bleaching my hair neither. I'm happy with my blue, thank you very much!" Nini added.

"No no, that's not what I meant. Look again." Charlotte replied.

They looked again, and as they did so Nikki turned her back to them to reveal a garish pair of plastic fairy wings with a pink fluffy trim, and to top it all off, she carried a cheap-looking plastic wand in the back pocket of her jeans which, judging by the way her midriff was bulging slightly over the beltline, was a half a size too small. In fact, all the girls were dressed up with wings and wands - and one or two of the guys as well, just for a laugh.

Charlotte giggled. "So? What do you think?"

Mimi and Nini looked at her as though she was crazy.

"Are you seriously saying..."

"...we should go in our fairy forms?"

"Yeah, why not? After all, I think the Winx girls did it once and got away with it, so why can't we?"

Anyuna smiled as she looked at the girls outside. "They look quite pathetic really... and we really oughtta put em in their place." she said chuckling. "Okay, let's do it - no-one out-Starz the Starz!"

* * *

**1. Speccy:** a childish insult levelled at people wearing glasses (which tells you a lot about Nikki's mentality) 


	4. Big Up The Melody Sistas!

**Okay, rattling on nicely now...**

**Thanks to: Chibi Horsewoman, Gabby and Spongey (my hardcore support) for their reviews, and Jaffa Cakes for being so tasty.**

**Radom Quote: ...and then, at the very last moment, I let go of the 747's undercarriage, and dropped onto the roof of the chasing police car, still holding the uranium... which was nice** (from The Fast Show)

* * *

"This is amazing!" 

"You said it sis. This is gonna RULE!"

Anyuna smiled at the sight of the twins walking briskly ahead of them, frantically trying to decide what club to hit first. This had only been their second ever visit to Earth (the first time being nothing more than a short shopping trip), and they were all determined to let their hair down in a major way. Anyuna and Charlotte jogged to catch up with them.

"Hey guys, I know we're here to have a good time, but just remember one thing, okay?"

"What's that then?" Mimi asked.

Anyuna looked around her furtively, then giggled as she whispered "Whatever you do, DON'T flap your wings!"

The four girls walked down the main street of the resort, looking resplendent in their fairy outfits which, for the most part, went unnoticed by the gangs of revellers who thronged the town centre, some sporting stunning tans whilst others looked more than slightly sunburnt. Hundreds of people representing different countries and races, but all united in one goal - to have a good time. Massive bass beats pounded all around them, emanating from the many nightclubs which had made their home here, the self-styled party capital of Europe... but as massive of those beats were, there was one thing they couldn't drown out - the delighted screams of a certain Melody fairy.

"EEEEEEE! Sis! SIS! Get over here NOW!"

Mimi rushed over to where her twin was standing.

"What's up N?"

"Take a look!" Nini replied, pointing at a poster stuck up outside one of the clubs. Mimi took one look, looked wide-eyed at her sister, then looked once again at the poster before joining her sibling in a doubly ear-piercing scream.

"Ow!" Anyuna shouted, her hands clasped over her ears. "What on Majix is going on?"

"Oh, we gotta do it!" "We so gotta do it!" the twins babbled excitedly.

"Do WHAT!?"

"THIS!" they said, pointing up at the notice. The others read it carefully.

"Amateur DJ Contest?" Charlotte said, adjusting her glasses.

"Yep! How sweet is that?" said Mimi grinning.

"Yeah. We'll just work our own brand of... ahem, musical magic and the crowd won't know what hit 'em!" Nini added.

"Whoa, whoa!" Anyuna interrupted, whispering. "You're not seriously gonna use magic here, are you?"

"Hey, chill out Dream-Girl." Mimi said, patting Anyuna on the back. "No-one'll notice a Sound Bubble here and a Bass Wave there. It'll be cool!"

"It'll be more than cool M - we'll rock the joint, big time!"

"More like you'll send everyone to sleep!"

The Starz turned around to see Nikki, standing hands on hips and looking rather smug, with her gang standing behind her. "Don't tell me you dweebs are actually going in for this thing?"

Anyuna smirked. "What's with the cheap plastic?" she said, flicking Nikki's 'wings' with the back of her hand. "You could've at least made a bit of an effort to look nice!"

"What, you mean look all poncey (1) like you? Pfft! Yeah right! I don't know if you noticed, but this is a nightclub, not a school ballet." Nikki snorted as she started to go into the club, before stopping and looking at Charlotte.

"Hey Speccy... we're going in here to have a good time - if you know what's good for you, you won't bother joining us."

Charlotte looked on fuming, her fists clenched, as Nikki and her friends walked into the club.

"I tell you, if we were anywhere but Earth..." she muttered under her breath.

"Cool it Charlotte, just ignore her - she's not worth it." Anyuna started before being interrupted by a hand being placed on her shoulder. She span around, and was immediately locked into the gaze of a young man, slightly taller than her. There was something odd about the way he looked into her eyes - it was almost as though it was some attempt to seduce her like one guy did in a cheesy B-movie she once saw, and a rather poor attempt at that. He was nothing special, although he obviously thought he was.

"I do apologise for my sister," he said. "She can be a spiteful little witch sometimes."

_'Ah well'_, Anyuna thought to herself, _'He's making an attempt at polite converstion, so I may as well go along with it... just as long as he doesn't try anything funny'_.

"She's your sister?" she replied.

"Yep, and a spoilt one too."

"Spoilt, eh? Well that explains a lot!"

"Come on, let's go in." he said, taking her hand. "I'm Steve, by the way."

"I'm Anyuna, this is Charlotte, and... oh," she said, trying hard to find the twins before catching a glimpse of them ahead of them, "That's Mimi and Nini over there - I guess they're eager to enter that contest."

"The DJ thing? You do know they're broadcasting it live on Radio One (2), don't you?"

"Radio? Nope, I didn't know that at all. Should be good."

"Yeah - let's hope your friends are too."

"Oh trust me, they're the best!"

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you guys. Shall we go in? I gotta say, erm... Anyuna, that's a wicked name. That outfit looks well-hot on you, and those wings..." he said, reaching out to touch them before Anyuna quickly grabbed his hand.

"Please don't touch my wings - they're... delicate."

"Sure, whatever you say babe." Steve replied, half confused about why she was so reluctant to let him touch them, and half happy that she was holding his hand voluntarily - as far as he was concerned, he was well in.

As they entered the club, Anyuna could see the twins having the rules on the contest explained to them by one of the organisers and being shown what music they had to work with. Soon they were excitedly listening to each of their tracks through two pairs of headphones.

"Ohh, that one's good!"

"Yeah, and check this one! D'you reckon it'll sound good mixed with a bit of this banghra?" (3)

Yes, the twins were well and truly in their element, trying out different combinations as the competition wore on. And what a competition it was too, with some DJs making a complete hash of things whilst others did a respectable job until finally it was their turn, the last contestants up. The MC bellowed into his microphone, reading from the intro the girls had given him.

"And now, comin' atcha from the Harmonic Nebula, here's two magical babes bringing you sounds that are out of this world - Mimi and Nini, the Melody Sistas!"

Anyuna and Charlotte tittered at the intro - it was typical Mimi and Nini, bright and cheeky. If only the MC knew how true those words were.

The lights dimmed, and a slow throbbing bassline slowly rose above the cheering crowd like the heartbeat of a waking giant, crashing over them in Mimi-inspired waves as she created Sound Bubbles to manipulate the music bursting out of the huge speaker system whilst disguising it as normal DJ-ish hand movements. The twins were used to the music scene, having brought the house down at the last Alfea school prom with their set, and now it was Earth's turn to be graced with the Melody experience. The atmospheric intro quickly gave way to euphoric high-powered trance that soon got the crowd jumping.

"I told you they were good!" Anyuna yelled. Steve pretended he didn't hear her and moved his ear closer, all the while wrapping his arm around her.

"What did you say?"

"I said..." but she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. Steve had sneakily turned his head and, as she opened her mouth, forced his lips onto hers. Disgusted, Anyuna quickly pulled away, but he responding by pulling her close again.

"What on Majix do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"Majix? What's Majix? What are you on about?"

"I said, what are you doing?" she screamed, pounding his chest as she tried to seperate herself from his grasp.

"Aw, come on babe, admit it - you've wanted me ever since you clapped eyes on me."

"Trust me, you're SO not my type. Besides, your breath reeks."

"My breath? Okay, so I had a few beers before coming out here. But hey, it's obvious you wanted me from the start - why else would you talk to me so nicely?"

"Politeness... something it seems you know nothing about. Now LET ME GO!" she said as she finally broke his grasp.

"Go on, just one kiss. You wouldn't want me to look bad in front of my friends, now would you?" he said, moving closer again. Anyuna obliged by giving him a real smacker - a hefty slap across the face that would've caught everyone's attention if they weren't so focused on the twins' stunning efforts. At long last, Steve got the message and backed away, humiliated and nursing his sore cheek, which was glowing a distinct shade of red.

"Fine, be like that - I don't know what I saw in you anyway, you frigid little prude!"

As Steve slunk away to his taunting friends, Charlotte went to restrain Anyuna who looked as though she was about to erupt.

"Sheesh - like sister, like brother, huh?"

"Charlotte, is it me, or are all earth-types apart from Teggy and Bloom complete jerks?"

They were interrupted by a huge cheer as Mimi and Nini brought their short set to a thunderous crescendo. As they stepped from from their decks accompanied by the MC yelling "Big up the Melody Sistaaaaas!" into the PA system, they were immediately mobbed by their new fan club, which was almost everyone in the place. No-one had ever heard a sound like theirs before, so they instantly knew they were onto something big. Eventually, Anyuna and Charlotte managed to fight their way through the crowd to congratulate their pals.

"Girls, you were awesome!"

"Thanks Yuni!" the girls beamed. They were barely able to stay on their feet thanks to the all the attention they were getting, and the buffeting they got became even greater as the MC took to the stage.

"Well this is a no-brainer! The judges have all agreed that this years winners are... THE MELODY SISTAS!!"

"Yes! You did it!" Charlotte said, hugging the twins for all she was worth while she still had the chance. The celebrations continued long and hard into the night, with the twins giving the odd encore here and there, just for good measure.

Yes, spirits were high - except in one corner, where one sulking girl, her humiliated brother and their friends looked bitterly on...

* * *

**1. Poncey: **Overly effeminate.

**2. Radio One:** a national UK radio station

**3. Banghra:** a style of dance music from India


	5. How To Have Your Cake And Eat It

**Three chapters in a week? Now you guys are being spoilt rotten!**

**Thanks to: Chibi Horsewoman, Spongey and Gabby for their reviews, and Megumi Hiyashibara for giving us 'Sakura Saku', the most enjoyable song I've heard in years!**

**Random Quote: Britain, Britain, Britain!... Land of technological achievement! We've had running water for over ten years, an underground tunnel that links us to Peru and we invented the cat!** (intro to an episode of Little Britain)

* * *

The next two weeks were very busy ones for Mimi and Nini. They did the whole pop-phenomenon thing - gigs, interviews, promos, freebies, and fending off music agents with whiter-than-white smiles and expensive sunglasses who were eager to get a piece of the action. The management at the Hotel Aurora also did their bit to make their stay more enjoyable, moving the Starz up to their luxury suite free of charge. The Starz really were stars. 

However all good things must come to an end, including holidays, and this particular holiday was now into its last day - a day which also happened to be Charlotte's birthday. The girls were sat in their usual spot by the pool, basking in the sun and bathing in the glow of the twins' celebrity status. Charlotte in particular was in a state of total bliss, as she lay on a sunbed being pampered like crazy. It was a birthday treat courtesy of the others and she was getting the works - massages, manicures, pedicures and facials, complete with obligatory cucumbers over the eyes... of course she would've preferred Nahri chillies to cucumbers, but Nahri chillies are rather thin on the ground here on Planet Earth.

Meanwhile, as the indulgence was getting into full swing, a couple of sets of jealous eyes were firmly fixed upon them. Nikki, being the spoilt little brat that she is, was positively seething to see the timid little girl she had tried to run into the ground looking so happy with her friends. On the other hand, Steve was still smarting over that slap in the face, even though he had made a move on no less than fourteen girls since then (two of whom were actually daft enough to kiss him back).

"Look at 'em, thinking they're all that." Steve muttered under his breath. "I'd sure love to wipe that pretty little smile off Anyuna's face."

A wicked grin crept on Nikki's features, and she whispered something into her brother's ear. Steve sniggered.

"That's a bit childish, ain't it?"

"Yes, but then again, it IS them!"

"Sweet... I can see it now - they'll be totally shown up in front of their mates! Come on then, let's do it."

"Nice one. I know just the place..."

* * *

Anyuna sighed a sigh of contentment as she, Charlotte, Mimi and Nini relaxed in the sun, catching just a few more rays before it was time to pack up and head home. But just as they were getting nice and cosy, a pair of shodows fell across them. 

"Hey!"

The two girls sat up to see Steve and Nikki stood in front of them, hands behind their backs.

"What do you want?" Anyuna said grumpily. "You're interrupting some quality chill-out time... this had better be good."

Nikki grinned innocently. "I hear it's someone's birthday today."

"Yes, that's right. It's mine." Charlotte replied.

Nikki shot a glance at her brother. "Good - here's your cake!"

Without warning, Nikki and Steve slammed a pair of large cream sponge cakes straight into Charlotte and Anyuna's faces. The fairies stood up flabbergasted, with oodles of creamy, jammy goodness dripping off them, watching on as Steve and Nikki strode away triumphantly, milking the cheers from their friends.

"Why those little...!" Anyuna suddenly snarled. "If they think they're gonna get away with..."

She was stopped by Charlotte, who put a restraining hand on her friend's arm.

"Hold it Yuni" she said calmly. Anyuna looked at her, trying her best not to look too confused.

"What? Don't you wanna get back at them?"

"Of course... but let's get cleaned up first." Charlotte replied with a knowing look on her fondant-covered face. Anyuna smiled - she knew the petite fire fairy well enough to know exactly what that look meant - Charlotte had an idea... and when Charlotte gets ideas, you know it's going to be good.

* * *

Anyuna emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in her bathrobe and towelling her hair dry. Charlotte was sat on one of the beds with the twins, admiring their latest stockpile of corporate freebies. 

"So Charlotte," Anyuna started. "This little 'get back at Steve and Nikki' thing... what's the plan?"

Charlotte smiled sweetly. "Well, as I was watching them after they'd caked us, a thought occured to me. All those things they've been doing - pushing me into the pool, Steve getting heavy with you, the cake thing, and all those nasty little comments in between... all they're doing is playing up to their friends. They're just a couple of attention-seekers."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, the best way to get back at them is to give them a jolly good de-repping. You know, embarrass them in front of their mates."

"Uh-huh. So what have you got in mind?"

"Simple!" she said as she stood up and transformed into her fairy-form. "We introduce ourselves... PROPERLY. Here's what we'll do..."

* * *

"I wish the others would hurry up and get here," Steve said as he sat impatiently on his bed. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nikki replied as she touched up her coral-pink lipstick. "I can't wait to go for one last blast."

They were interrupted by a tapping on the window. Curious, Nikki opened the curtains to see Charlotte sitting on the balcony and waving cheekily, along with the other Starz, all of them in full fairy mode.

"What the...?" she said angrily as the stormed out to meet them. "Oi! Speccy! What do you think you're doing here?"

"More to the point," Steve said following her, "How on Earth did you get there in the first place?"

"We kinda got off on the wrong foot, and we wanna put things straight before we have to go home." Charlotte replied. "As for HOW we got here... ummm, how can we put this?"

"I know," Anyuna giggled. "Steve... remember when I wouldn't let you touch my wings?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there was a very good reason for that." she said as, to the amazement of the brother and sister, she gently fluttered to the other side of the balcony and sat down in a deckchair that the gruesome twosome had stolen from the nearby beach. "Our wings... are real!"

Steve and Nikki looked on in total shock. Did she just fly?

"But... but... how?" Steve spluttered. "I mean... what... how...?"

"I think what Stevo's trying to say is... what kind of freaks are you?" Nikki cut in.

"We're fairies!" Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact way as she conjured up a little fireball, tossed it up in the air and caught it, snuffing it out in her dainty little hand. "I'm a fire fairy from the Planet Nahri..."

"...I'm a dream fairy from the Dream Realm..." said Anyuna.

"...and we're music fairies from the Planet Melody!" the twins said in unison.

By this time, the poor unsuspecting saps were in a state of complete bewilderment, their eyes wide open, their mouths open so wide you could shovel a whole paella (1) in them and still have space for a small cake or two.

Charlotte gave a little smirk. "You're probably wondering why we're telling you all this, aren't you?"

Steve and Nikki nodded.

"It's like I said, we kinda got off on the wrong foot, and I figured the best way forward was to come clean as to who we really are. I guess we can trust you guys not to tell our little secret, right?"

A short silence followed. Steve and Nikki looked at each other and smiled wickedly.

"Keep your secret? Are you kidding? This is tabloid gold-dust! Once we expose you freaks, we'll be rich!"

A small look of panic appeared on the girls' faces. It looked as though Charlotte's plan was about to go well and truly pear-shaped (2)- were their true identities about to be revealed?

* * *

**1. Paella:** a Spanish delicacy consisting of rice, saffron and seafood. It's bloody gorgeous.

**2. To go pear-shaped:** to go badly wrong.


	6. Away With The Fairies

**Another week begins, and for once my favourite team has actually made it to the 2nd round of the FA Cup... and they won away too! w00t!!**

**Thanks to: Spongey, Chibi Horsewoman and Gabby for their reviews (I'm glad this has been an educational experience for you!)**

**Random Quote: Good-Bye. I'll miss you, beautiful gorgeous face. Ohhh, got to become a bubbly and dorky looking fairy.** (Stormy, Winx Club)

* * *

"What? No, you can't do this! You can't tell anyone! Please!" Anyuna pleaded. 

"Oh yes we can!" Steve replied smugly, as somebody knocked on their door. "Ah, and what better time to start spreading the news than right now!" he said as he and Nikki raced to answer it. He laughed as he let their friends in.

"Hey guys, you're never gonna believe this. Those geeky girls decided to come and pay us a visit."

"Yeah, so?"

"They're out on the balcony right now, and you'll never guess what?"

"What?"

"They're fairies!"

"Excuse me?! Fairies?"

"Yup. Fairies. From another planet!" Nikki babbled excitedly as she led them out onto the balcony. "Oh yes, you gotta see this. They got the whole fairy thing going on - wings, magic, the works!"

Their friends looked very unimpressed to say the least.

"Wings eh? What wings?"

"Are you blind? Those wings right th..." Steve stopped dead in his tracks as he was greeted by the sight of the Starz in their everyday wear, looking oh-so-innocent with not a wing to be seen. "Hey! What's going on? Where have your wings gone?"

"Wings?" Charlotte replied nonchalantly, trying her best not to laugh as she shrugged her shoulders. "I've got no idea what you're talking about."

Anyuna leant over towards her friend. "Maybe he means those costumes we wore the other night."

"You really think so? I mean, sure they were pretty, but I don't see how that would make them think we're REALLY fairies - can you?"

Steve and Nikki looked desperately at their friends, who glared back at them. "Guys, you gotta believe us - it's TRUE! They ARE fairies!!"

"Pfft! If you ask me, it's you two who're away with the fairies! Come on lads, let's get out of here before they start trying to get us playing with dolls!"

They stormed out of the room, closely followed by Steve and Nikki as they frantically tried to claw back their reputations, but to no avail - as far as the others concerned, their formerly cool pals were officially two sandwiches short of a picnic. As the door was slammed shut, the nasty pair turned around and stormed back out onto the balcony, their faces turning bright red with anger and embarrassment.

"Right, that does it! You girls are gonna pay for..."

What girls? Steve and Nikki looked around them, left and right. The balcony was empty. The girls had vanished - well, not quite vanished... just back in their room laughing their heads off as they listened to Steve bellowing out into the night.

"Where are you? You're gonna pay for this! You hear me? YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

* * *

Tegryn and Musa had to prop each other up as they laughed hysterically, tears streaming down their faces. 

"Oh man, you guys are absolutely priceless!" Tegryn said as he wiped his poor, aching cheeks. "But what would've happened if somebody had heard you?"

"No chance of that happening!" said Mimi.

"We had the balcony wrapped up in a Sound Bubble. No-one heard a thing!" Nini added.

"Yeah, and no-one saw anything neither." said Anyuna. "I planted an Mirage Ball on the side of the balcony - anyone looking up at it would've only seen, well, an empty balcony!"

"Mirage Ball?"

"A little something I've been working on over the summer."

"Well, gotta take our hats off to you," Musa applauded. "Way to de-rep those creeps!"

"Yeah, remind us not to get on your bad side!" Tegryn added, nudging Charlotte playfully before patting his stomach as it made a loud growling noise.

"Aww what's the matter Teggy? Hungry?" Charlotte asked, giving his tummy a quizzical look.

"Yes, his chocolate supply ran out two hours ago!" Musa joked.

"Oi!"

"Well, it IS lunchtime after all." said Bloom. "Come on, let's go and get something to eat."

"Ah, now you're talking! Let me just dump my bags in my room, then I'll meet you down there." Tegryn said, waving to the others as he walked down the corridor. He had only walked a few steps when Musa popped her head around the corner.

"Erm... Teggy?"

"Yep?"

"Your room's THAT way!" she said, pointing in the opposite direction. A couple of muffled sniggers could be heard coming from the room behind her.

"Are you sure? I could've sworn my room's THAT way."

"No Teggy, that's a store cupboard! Your room's on the other side of the castle." she sighed. "I guess I'm gonna have to carry on walking you to classes, huh?"

"Heh. You make it sound like a chore. Come on then!" he said, holding out his arm which Musa was only too glad to take in her own.

They sauntered through the corridors and hallways of Alfea accompanied by their pixies, all happy and joyful, cheerfully greeting everyone they passed until, as they entered the last corridor leading to the teachers' quarters and Tegryn's room, they stopped. There in front of them, at about head height, a little pinprick of light had appeared and was slowly getting bigger, crackling with minute bursts of energy. They examined it closely, their curiousity at a peak.

"Musa? Did you order a pinprick of light crackling with minute bursts of energy?" Tegryn remarked.

"No, I could've sworn I asked for pepperoni. What IS that thing anyway?"

"I don't know" he said, looking more concerned as the crackling suddenly became more dramatic and violent, "But I get the feeling taking a few steps backwards would be a really good career choice right about now..."

It was a great idea, but unfortunately for Tegryn he never got the chance to practice what he preached as, with a blinding flash and what sounded like a girl's scream, something solid cannoned out of the light and hit him square on the forehead. The sheer force of the blow sent him reeling backwards and he fell, smacking his head hard on the stone floor with a loud and less-than-healthy crack, with whatever it was that hit him landing heavily on top of him.

Tegryn grunted in pain. His head was throbbing - it felt like some demented nutcase was inside his head smacking him repeatedly with a sledgehammer, and the shockwaves were still reverberating through his skull. His whole world was enveloped by darkness, and he could feel it swaying to and fro, to and fro, to and fro - he hadn't felt this woozy ever since Darcy hit him with her confusion spell. All was nearly silent, the only sounds being Musa's desperate cries gradually fading in and out as he struggled to steady his mind. It was a struggle he was struggling to win - try as he might, he couldn't stop his subconscious surrendering itself to the blackness...


	7. Where Theres A Will…

**Yes, WITCH have finally made into this story... but witch, sorry, which one? Read on MacDuff...**

**Thanks to: Meg, Gabby and Spongey for their reviews - cheers guys!**

**Random Quote: Keep a green bough in the heart and the singing bird will come** (Chinese proverb)

* * *

"Teggy! Teggy, wake up!" 

Tegryn groaned as he groggily opened his eyes, screwing them shut as they adjusted once again to the daylight. He had only blacked out for a couple of seconds, but it felt much, much longer than that. He blinked his eyes - there was a faint blurry shape in front of him, but it kept crashing in and out of focus. His ears were ringing, but thankfully the high-pitched whining soon gave way to something much more pleasant - Musa's voice.

"Teggy! Oh thank goodness! Are you okay?"

He smiled as he strained to get up, but he couldn't, not even with Polli's help as she tried to pull him up - it seemed their little play-fight earlier had given her a new sense of strength. Something was on top of him, something that seemed quite heavy. Slowly, he lifted his head and peered at whatever it was to be confronted by a mass of red hair. It was a person, and even though he had a rather limited viewpoint, he could tell from what he could see and feel that it was a girl.

"What the... hey. Hey, wake up!" he said, shaking her gently in an effort to rouse her.

It was no use - whoever it was was out like a light, so he gently rolled her over. At long last, they were able to get a better look at whoever had hit him - it was a young red-haired girl, dressed in light brown baggy combats and a pastel pink hoodie. A large, angry-looking bruise was beginning to appear on her forehead, along with a bump.

Tune shook her head and folded her arms in disgust. "Honestly, some people have no decorum whatsoever! There's a good reason why the teachers keep telling people not to run in corridors!"

"Who is she? Do you know her?" Tegryn said to Musa.

"No idea... she's too young to be an Alfea girl. Whoever she is, she's hurt - we oughtta get her to the nurse... and you too while we're at it."

"It's okay, I'm fine." gently rubbing the small bump that was starting to show itself on his forehead.

"No you're not - you're bleeding!" she said, pointing to the floor. Tegryn looked around - there was a small crimson pool where he head had been laying. He gingerly put his hand to the back of his head and winced slightly before bringing it back round. The red streaks on his fingers confirmed it, not that he had any reason to doubt his own fiancée.

"Okay," he said as he shook his head, trying to get rid of some of the cobwebs that were fogging his brain.

"Do you think you can carry her?"

"Well, I'll give it a try," he said with a grunt as he hoisted the girl up. Cradling her in his arms and with Polli sat on her stomach, he started walking down the corridor.

"Erm... Teggy dearest?"

"Yes Musa honey?"

"The infirmary's THAT way!"

* * *

"Tegryn, will you hold still please?" 

Tegryn sat with his legs folded on one of the infirmary beds as nurse Ofelia stood behind him and patched him up, although she wasn't being helped much by his constant moving around. Musa sat by his side, holding his hand with Polli perched on his lap, giggling as Tegryn tickled her tummy. The other girl lay quietly in the bed next to his, still out for the count.

"Okay, that's you done now Tegryn - back into bed with you!" Ofelia said. "How are you feeling now?"

"A bit better, but I'm still a little bit woozy."

"Well, that's only to be expected. Now then, let's see to our little sleeping beauty, shall we?" she said, turning to a medical cabinet mounted on the wall. "I have an ointment that'll bring her bruising down in no time... oh!"

"Something wrong?"

"I DID have an ointment, but I appear to have run out of it." Ofelia tutted. "I suppose I'd better pop out and get some more. I shan't be too long. Tegryn, I want you stay in bed now, you hear? I can't have you running around after that knock you took... just to be on the safe side."

"Sure. See you later then!"

They waved Ofelia off. As soon as she was out of sight, Musa turned to Tegryn and carefully touched the bump on his head.

"How does it feel?"

"A little tender."

Musa smiled mischievously. "What kind of fiancée would I be if I didn't kiss it better?"

Tegryn chuckled. "Don't let me stop you!"

Musa didn't need asking twice as she drew herself up to him and kissed his forehead as softly as she could.

"How does it feel now?"

"Better. Mind you, my cheeks are still aching from all that laughing earlier."

"Say no more!" Musa said as she planted more soft kisses on them, first the left and then the right. "Anywhere else that needs seeing to?"

"Well... now that you mention it, my lips are feeling rather sore."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" she said, grinning.

As Musa got to work 'nursing' Tegryn's lips, Tune looked away and stuck her nose up in the air with a "Hmmph!". She certainly didn't approve of such a public display of affection - it was most impolite to say the least, especially when they're not alone. But just as she was about to make her feelings known, something caught her eye...

The girl in the next bed was stirring, letting out a soft moan as she slowly opened her eyes. Tegryn stopped and looked at Musa.

"That's odd."

"What is?" she asked.

"You don't usually moan like that when we're kissing."

"Um, that wasn't me."

Tune interrupted them. "Musa, Tegryn. I take it you've forgotten that we have company?"

The girl looked up, and was amazed by what she saw - there in front of her was what appeared to be a pretty young child, barely knee-height, with vivid lilac-coloured hair and wearing a fancy blue and white southern-belle dress... and she was hovering in front of her, fluttering her tiny little purple wings and speaking perfectly refined English. The girl sat up with a jump and reeled back in shock.

"What on Earth are you?"

Tune looked at her with an air of indignation. "Hmmph! Well that's no way to speak to a pixie!"

"Excuse me? Pixie?!"

"Oh good, you're awake!" The girl looked around to see Musa and Tegryn sitting arm-in-arm on the bed next to her. "How are you feeling?" Musa asked as she came over, sat next to her and held her hand reassuringly.

"My head's killing me." the girl replied before pointing at Tune. "Umm... did she really say she's a pixie?"

"Yup. Her name's Tune. I'm Musa, and this is Tegryn and Polli - she's another pixie."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "My name's Will. Pixies? Wow... I think they're really sweet... but, where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary."

"And where's this infirmary?"

"In the Alfea School for Fairies."

Will's eyes widened. "School for FAIRIES? There are fairies here? Where?"

Musa laughed. "You're speaking to one!"

"What?! You? A fairy? But I always thought fairies were a lot... smaller."

"Yep, you earth-peeps sure do have some crazy ideas about us fairies!"

"Oh! So you know about Earth then?"

"Yeah, been there a few times. Teggy's from Earth!" Musa said, pointing at her loved one. Tegryn nodded.

"Cool. I'm glad I'm not the only one from Earth here." Will said, before gasping and putting her hand over her mouth. "Earth! Oh man, I gotta get back!" she said as she started to clamber out of her bed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Musa said as she gently pushed Will back down. "You've just spent the last hour knocked out stone cold. You're not going anywhere yet, not until the nurse has checked you out."

"But I have to get back to my friends. It's really important! I should at least let them know where I am!"

Tegryn sat up. "In that case, why don't me and Musa go to Earth, find them and bring them here?"

Musa shook her head. "I don't know. One of us ought to stay and keep Will company."

"Okay, you stay here with Will and the two of you can have a nice girly chat. I'll have a quick look for them on my own."

Musa looked concerned. "Are you sure? Are you feeling well enough?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, as long as I know where to look."

Will nodded. "Okay. Do you know Heatherfield?"

"Heatherfield? Hmmmm, let's see now, Heatherfield... that name does ring a bell. Heatherfield... Heatherfield..." Tegryn said as he racked his brain so hard, you could almost hear the cogs grinding. Eventually he snapped his fingers in triumph. "Heatherfield! Yes, that's it! I passed through Heatherfield about three or four years ago whilst trekking through the Amazon."

Will looked at him, a bit confused. "The AMAZON?! But... Heatherfield's nowhere near the Amazon!"

"Well yes, I know that NOW!"

Will looked at Musa, now more than a bit confused. "Don't worry, Teggy has a lousy sense of direction!" Musa whispered.

"Hey, it's not that bad!"

"No? Only last month, he got himself locked in my dad's closet whilst searching for the bathroom!"

"Yes... well... the less said THAT, the better!" Tegryn said sheepishly. "I'm just glad Musie found me before it was, ahem, too late!"

Will laughed as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wallet. She opened it, took out what appeared to be a small square of plastic and handed it to Tegryn. It was actually a laminated photo of Will and a young black girl of the same age in full photo-booth mode, pulling goofy faces and giving peace signs to the camera. Tegryn chuckled.

"That's Taranee - she's my best bud." Will explained. "Find her and you'll find my other friends."

"Shouldn't be too hard - just find a girl pulling stupid faces!"

"Are you SURE you can find Heatherfield?" Will asked.

"Sure, I'll just open a portal right here."

"Wow! You do portals?"

"Oh yeah. I'm getting quite good at it too... and it's so much easier than walking. I mean, with walking, you've got to remember directions - turn left, go down the road, turn right, go a hundred miles that way. With portals, it's just BAM! You're there!"

"Well I don't like this one bit." Tune complained. "Nurse Ofelia specifically told you to remain in bed."

"Don't worry Tune." Tegryn said as he patted her on the head. "I'll be back before you know it."

Musa hugged Tegryn goodbye as he prepared to leave. "Are you SURE you'll be alright?"

"Of course I will. And don't worry - I won't be on my own. C'mon Polli, we're taking a trip to Earth!"


	8. …There's a Hay Lin

**Thanks to: Meg, Liz and Spongey for their luvverly comments, Bristol Rovers for finally winning two away games on the trot and once again making me proud to be a Gashead, and Glasgow Celtic for entertaining me greatly by beating Man Utd last night!**

**No thanks to: Whoever banned Gabby from using her computer (grrrr)**

**A big shout out to: The England cricket team, who are about to do the business in Australia (I hope!) Come on boys!**

**Random Quote: If she wants a fight, then butter my butt and call me a biscuit if I don't give her one! **(Hay Lin, from Liz / babywhale's fic)

* * *

Dark. Damp. Gloomy.

Not usually the sort of words used to describe the fair town of Heatherfield, but today was an exception. Even though most of the country was enjoying the last dregs of summer, Heatherfield had decided not to bother and instead thought it would be a good idea to go straight into deepest autumn, with a spot of fine drizzle just to add the finishing touch. It seemed that everyone in the town had chosen to stay in the comfort of their homes rather than get a slow soaking, except for four lone girls sat underneath a tree outside the Sheffield Institute, with clouds above their heads that were even thicker and darker than the clouds that blanketed the town.

The tallest of the group sat with a look of anxiety on her face, fiddling with her long blond hair with worry. "We gotta find her, and quick - without her, we'll be sitting ducks if Phobos tries anything."

"Yes Corny, we know, but... where do we start?"

"More to the point Irma, HOW do we start?" the Chinese girl added. "Without the Heart of Kandrakar, dimension-hopping's gonna be bit tricky."

The group fell silent and their heads sank as they tried to rack their brains, searching for some sort of solution. Suddenly, Irma perked up.

"Ooh! Maybe HE can help!" she said giggling with a spark in her blue eyes, looking over at a tall handsome stranger walking past them.

"Oh great!" Cornelia moaned. "Will's lost in another dimension, Kandrakar's been left vulnerable, the universe is in deadly peril, and now Irma's boydar is going off the scale! Can this day get any better?"

Irma hushed her. "Sssh! He's coming this way." she said, jumping to her feet and quickly fixing her damp hair. Sure enough, he'd spotted them and was quickly crossing the road in their direction, glancing occasionally at something in his hand.

"Hi! I'm Irma" she said holding out her hand, which the stranger very politely took in his own and shook.

"Hi, I'm Tegryn." he said, laughing a little nervously - judging by that look on her face, he guessed she had taken a bit of an instant fancy to him. But wait... there was something more to her than that. As he looked deeper into those big blue eyes of hers, he could tell there was something about this girl... something... well, SOMETHING, and whatever that something was, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He blinked as he broke himself out of this train of thought and cast a glance at the other girls, greeting them cheerfully before stopping at the girl sitting at the end of the row, peering up at him through her slightly fogged-up glasses.

"And you must be Taranee" he said.

Taranee gasped along with the others.

"How did you know that? Are you psychic or something?"

"Oh, if only!" Tegryn laughed, shaking his head as he handed her the photo. "No, Will asked me to come and find you guys."

"WILL!? You know where Will is?"

"Oh yes... and don't worry, she's perfectly fine. Well, she's a little bit hurt, but she's in good hands."

"She's hurt? What happened?"

But before Tegryn could answer, something in the his jacket pocket started to rustle... it was Polli, who timidly popped her head out and peered up at the sky, blinking her endearingly big eyes.

"Yeah, it's okay Polli - it's stopped raining now."

Polli looked shyly at the four girls, who were all looking adoringly back at her.

"Awww, she's so cute... and tiny too!" said Hay Lin as she reached forward to touch her. Polli shot her head back into the pocket and clung to Tegryn through the lining of his jacket for comfort as she so often did.

"She's just a bit shy, that's all." Tegryn explained, laughing. "It's okay Polli, they're friends." He then turned back to the girls. "Mind you, I'm glad you can all see her 'cos it's saved me having to ask an awkward question."

"Oh yeah? And what question's that?" Cornelia asked.

Tegryn looked around him to check the coast was clear before speaking quietly. "Do you girls do magic?"

"Pfft! Do we do magic? We're WITCH!" said Irma proudly.

"Witches?"

"No, WITCH... Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin! WITCH!"

Taranee corrected her. "Strictly speaking, without Will we're just ITCH!"

"Ah, I see!" Tegryn said, looking a bit relieved. "I was getting worried for a minute there - witches have a bit of a bad rep round our way, but anyway..."

"So Tegryn..." Cornelia started.

"Please, my friends call me Teggy."

"Teggy... how did Will get hurt?"

"Ah yes, Will. Poor girl... she's ended up in such a beautiful realm, and the first thing she got to see is my head at high speed! What happened anyway? Is she usually that bad at teleporting?"

"No, she's actually very good... and anyway, it wasn't her who did that at all." Cornelia explained. "That creep Cedric zapped her with a Random Portal Generator spell."

"Random Portal Generator? That's a new one."

"Yes. We were too late to stop him zapping Will, but luckily we were to get rid of him before he could use it again. I guess he figured that if we were all stranded in separate random dimensions, we wouldn't be able to get together and defend the universe."

"Defend the universe? So this Cedric's another 'conquer-everything-in-sight' bad guy, eh? How original."

"Well, he's actually a second-in-command to a conquer-everything-in-sight bad guy."

"I see. Anyway... shall we go?"

The girls nodded and they all stood up. Tegryn held out his hand, but then stopped and drew it back.

"Ah... I'm guessing opening trans-dimensional portals in broad daylight isn't such a great idea round here?"

"Yep, you guessed right." said Hay Lin. "Come on. My place is pretty close - we can go from there."

* * *

Soon, Tegryn and the 'ITCH' girls arrived at the Silver Dragon restaurant just as her mother and father were stepping out of the front door. 

"Hello Hay. We're just going out to the cash-and-carry to get supplies," her mother said.

"Hi girls" her father greeted Cornelia, Irma and Taranee before his eyes fell upon Tegryn. "Ah... I see you have a new friend."

"Yes. Mom, Dad, this is Tegryn."

"Very pleased to meet you Tegryn."

Tegryn bowed politely. "Ni hao ma?"

Her parents looked at other in surprise. "Hen hao, xie xie!" they replied, almost in unison.(1)

"Oh, you speak Chinese!" said her mother. "And that accent... Hunan?"

Tegryn laughed. "That's right, yes! I lived in a village in Hunan province for five years. I have family there."

"Never! My family are from Hunan province - perhaps our families are neighbours!" she remarked happily. "You should stop by one day for dinner - you must be missing Hunan cuisine!"

"Definately! Hunan chicken - best in the world!"

"Oh, how very true... especially ours! Anyway... why exactly are you here?"

"Umm, their friend Will's been hurt - don't worry though, it's very minor... certainly nothing to worry her family about. Anyway, I was just going to take them to see her, but Hay Lin wanted to come in here first."

"Oh dear. I hope she's okay. Give her our love, won't you girls?"

"Oh, we will. Bye!" Hay Lin said, waving her folks off. "Come on guys, let's go up to my room - we wouldn't want anyone seeing us through the window, now would we?"

As they trooped up the stairs, Irma spoke quietly to Tegryn.

"Hey Teggy. That was some pretty good lying you did there to stall Hay-Hay's folks."

Tegryn grinned. "That wasn't a lie... was it Polli?" he said, looking up at his little friend as she fluttered above their heads. Irma let out a little gasp of surprise when she saw this.

"Yow! Teggy... your baby's FLYING!"

"Yes, I know" said Tegryn. "All pixies can."

"Pixie?"

"Yep. She's a pixie - a pixie of truth to be exact. If someone tells a lie, she can spot it a mile off! And she's why I was able to tell that you girls can do magic - here on Earth, only children and magical beings can see pixies."

"Sweet." Irma said before changing the subject in a less-than-subtle manner. "So Teggy... do you have a girlfriend?"

"Irma! What kind of question's that?" Cornelia snapped as she grabbed Tegryn's left hand and thrust it in Irma's face. "Look at his ring - can't you see he's married!"

"Heh. I'm not quite married yet - that's an engagement ring." Tegryn chuckled. "But Cornelia's right, I'm already spoken for. In fact, my fiancée's with Will right now."

Tegryn couldn't help noticing the slightly disappointed look on Irma's face at this little revelation. _'It's such a shame, she really is a very sweet girl,'_ he thought to himself, '_But if she really was crushing on me, it's best to dash it quickly before it goes too far_.'

As they entered Hay Lin's room, something immediately caught Tegryn's eye - it was a music magazine sat on a bedside table, with a couple of familiar faces on the front cover. He picked it up and read it.

"The Melody Sistas Mystery?" he read out.

"Yeah, the Melody Sistas. Have you heard of them? They're awesome!" Irma said enthusiastically. "Coolest DJs ever. They did this kïller set a couple of weeks ago live on radio - I have a copy of the podcast if you want it!"

Tegryn laughed as he carried on reading. "Their mysterious disappearance along with their two friends have baffled local and international police, as have their origins. Nobody knows where they come from, and even more mysteriously they cannot be found on any flight records or airport CCTV pictures going into or out of the country. Initial claims by two hotel guests that they were fairies from another planet were immediately dismissed as complete and utter bollocks."

Irma shook her head sadly. "I know, it's such a shame. We totally loved their stuff, didn't we girls?" The others all nodded.

"Hmmm..." Tegryn said, a wry smile breaking out on his face like a rash. "Say, you guys wanna meet them?"

Irma's eyes widened with excitement. "Huh? You KNOW the Sistas?"

"Know them? They're some of my best friends!"

"You're kidding? So I can actually meet them?"

Tegryn nodded. Irma responded by clutching him as tight as her petite figure could manage and shrieking with delight. He blushed slightly as, not knowing quite how to react, he hugged her gently back before letting her go. This Irma's certainly an affectionate little thing, he thought to himself - almost as affectionate as his younger sister Mei. He cleared his throat as he quickly composed himself and, with a wave of his hand, opened up a swirling purple vortex right in front of them.

"Ooh, pretty!" Hay Lin remarked.

"All aboard the Teggy Express - next stop, Alfea!"

* * *

**1. I really hope I got this right - needless to say my Chinese is less than perfect... **

**Ni hao ma? How are you?**

**Hao hen, xie xie! Very well, thank you!**


	9. Off! Off! Off!

**Thanks to: Spongey, Meg and Sokai for their reviews, as well as Dipali and LiDOOL Lady - hope you guys stick around!**

**Random quote: If at first you don't succeed**, **try**, **try again**. **Then quit**. **No use being** **a damn fool about it** (WC Fields)

* * *

Back in Alfea, it seems the Winx and Starz girls had all gotten a little concerned when Musa and Tegryn hadn't turned up for lunch. Eventually, they had finally managed to track them down to the infirmary, where they had all crowded into the small ward getting filled on on what had happened earlier and getting aquainted with their guest. Their happy chatter was interrupted by Tegryn poking his head through a portal in the wall.

"Hey guys... miss me?"

Musa's face brightened up immediately. "Hey hon, you took your time. What took you so long?"

"It's not my fault. Heatherfield's a big place."

"Heatherfield's not THAT big," said Will, who was sitting up in her bed, munching on some snacks and looking a lot healthier than before.

"It is when you're me!"

"Ah yes, the lousy sense of direction. I'd forgotten about that!"

"Heh. So anyway Will... you'll never guess who I found!"

That was the cue for four teenage girls to step into another world. Blinking, they looked around their new surroundings and the many pairs of curious eyes that were fixed upon them before they finally saw Will, smiling happily at them from the bed on which she sat.

"WILL!" they all screamed at once as they crowded round her for a much-needed group hug, and as that little reunion got underway, Musa was enjoying one of their own, embracing Tegryn, wrapping her arms gently behind his neck and gazing up at him adoringly.

"I missed you!"

"I missed you t..." he said before staggering forwards, his knees nearly giving way from under him. Startled, Musa caught him and helped him back to his feet as he regained his senses.

"Teggy! What's wrong?"

"Whoa!" he said, putting his hand on his forehead. "Major dizzy spell!"

"I'm not surprised, gallavanting between dimensions in your condition!" Ofelia said angrily as she stepped out of her office. "Dimension-jumping isn't a very good idea when you're concussed. Now come on, back in bed with you - and maybe this time you'll STAY in bed when I tell you!"

Tegryn didn't need telling twice as he obediently got back into bed and flopped back against the pillows, feeling a bit exhausted. As soon as Musa had lovingly pulled the covers over him, Tune plonked herself firmly onto his lap.

"Tune... what are you doing?" Musa asked, tittering.

"Making sure your fiancé behaves himself!" she answered back.

"Ah, I see what you mean - he really is a very naughty boy! Room for one more?" Musa asked cheekily as she picked the little pixie up, sat across his legs and placed her gently on her own lap before snuggling up to him. "There. Now we can keep an eye on him together!"

Tune couldn't help but giggle - her bond with Musa was especially strong even though their characters were completely different. Tune was elegant, refined, impeccably mannered and always spoke perfect Queen's English. On the other hand, Musa was flippant, fun-loving, easy-going, irreverant and spoke with plenty of slang mixed in, which, try as she might, poor little Tune just couldn't get her head around. But despite this massive contrast in personalities, they always knew what to say to support each other, or just to cheer each other up.

"Cool. Are you a pixie too?"

Tune turned around to be greeted with Cornelia, who was leant over the bed, her head resting on her hands, and gazing at her as though she was the cutest thing ever.

"Oh! Why, yes I am. My name is Tune." she replied, politely offering her dainty little hand, which Cornelia gently took in her own and shook.

"And I'm Cornelia. I'm very pleased to meet you. I gotta say, I love your hair, it's really pretty. And that dress... I love it, it's so you!"

Tune smiled happily. "Thank you, what a very kind thing to say. You certainly are a lovely, polite young lady, aren't you? Tegryn, why can't you be more like Cornelia here?"

"Because I'd look ridiculous with long blond hair."

"Huh! I suppose I should've expected an answer like THAT from you!" Tune replied, shaking her head. "So then Tegryn... aren't you going to introduce us to the other girls?"

"Of course, yes. Guys, you've already met Will and Cornelia. That's Taranee over there, with Hay Lin, and the funny little thing sitting next to me here is Irma!"

"Oi!" Irma said, laughing and jabbing him playfully in the ribs. As the fairies introduced themselves to their guests, Tegryn noticed Bloom and Stella whispering to one another and giggling.

"Hey guys, what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing Teggy!" Stella replied, smiling innocently. Tegryn chuckled as Polli piped up with her trademark Eeeping.

"Stella! I don't know whether you've noticed or not, but I have a truth pixie sitting on my head and she's making a lot of noise right now! So spill!"

"Well... it's just that... me and Bloom couldn't help noticing how alike you and Irma look."

A hush fell across the room as everybody stared at Tegryn and Irma.

"Oh yes... it's true..." Will murmured.

"They got the same eyes, the same sort of hair..." Taranee noted.

"...and the same goofy grin!" Hay Lin smirked.

Tegryn and Irma looked at each other and blushed as a chorus of titters rose up.

"Aww, come on guys, knock it off! There's no way I look like him!" Irma protested. "I'm much cuter for a start!"

"Hee hee! Male Teggy... female Teggy... male Teggy... female Teggy!" Musa giggled.

"Never mind them," Charlotte said as she stepped forward and gave Tegryn a little cuddle. "Here. When I heard about you getting hurt, I got you this." His eyes lit up with delight as she handed him his present.

"A giant box of chocolates! Oh Charlotte, you're such a little sweetie!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Ah, my little sis always knows how to look after me!"

Irma looked on in astonishment as he tore the box open and, after offering them around, started to wolf the contents down.

"Teggy! You're not gonna eat ALL of 'em right now, are you? You'll get fat!"

Tegryn stopped and looked up. "Hmmm? Me, fat? No way!" he said as he tensed his stomach and hit it gently with his clenched fist "See? Rock hard abs! Not an ounce of flab!"

"Is that true?" Irma asked, turning to Musa.

"I guess so." she replied. "It certainly feels like it."

"What d'ya mean, it _feels_ like it?"

"Well, I've touched his body enough times, but I've never actually seen him without a shirt on."

"You're kidding! You're engaged and you've never seen..."

"Nuh-uh!" Musa said, shaking her head.

"And I should hope so too!" Tune muttered. "Until the two of you are married, that would be most inappropriate."

"Well in that case..." Irma said as she leant forward and started whispering something into Musa's ear. Tegryn looked on suspiciously as the two girls started to snigger. He smiled uneasily - he didn't like the way this conversation was going, that was for sure. His suspicions were confirmed as they broke away from their secret pow-wow, smiled and nodded to each other.

Tegryn's curiousity was at a peak. What are these girls planning? What was about to go down?

He didn't have to wait long as, quite without warning, Irma sniggered and punched him in the stomach. As he lurched forward, winded and gasping for breath, Musa called the nurse into the room, trying to keep her face as straight as possible.

"Ofelia! Ofeeeeliaaaa!"

The nurse rushed to them. "What is it? What's the problem?"

"Teggy's having trouble breathing. Could you come and check his chest please?"

"Oh dear. Tegryn, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes... yes, I'll... be..." he spluttered.

"Well I'd better check you, just to be sure. Lean forward please."

Musa and Irma looked at each other with mischeivous glints in their eyes as Tegryn did as he was told, but to their dismay, rather than taking his shirt off and giving everyone an eyeful of his manly chest, Nurse Ofelia simply slipped her stethoscope up his back.

"Darn! So close!" Irma said to Musa, clicking her fingers in frustration. Tegryn responded in the most mature way possible - sticking his tongue out and blowing her a raspberry. There was only one thing to do now, and that was to tease her for all he was worth.

"Heh! Nice try, Little Teggy!"


	10. What's Your Element?

**Doesn't time fly when everything seems to be flying into a mad panic at work? I've just noticed just how long this chapter is... well, compared to my usual ones anyway. Sigh, looks like another 2-post job over on 4kids. Darn 10000 character limit...**

**Thanks to: Meg (the only person to review my last chapter - sigh), and Bristol Rovers for winning six games in a row.**

**Random Quote: Man, I could never settle down with someone whose name sounds like a footballer clearing out his nose** (Lister from Red Dwarf, deciding that Khakhakhakkhhakhakkkhakkkkakh just ain't the genetically engineered lifeform for him)

* * *

"Phew! Oh man!" 

"Sorry we're late you guys!"

Everyone in the room, who up until then were very busy getting to know each other, looked around to see Mimi and Nini in the doorway looking totally exhausted. The WITCH girls stared at them in astonishment as they recognised the pair of superstars standing right there before them.

"So where have you guys been?" Musa asked.

"You'll never believe this." Mimi started.

"They're only playing our DJ set..." Nini continued.

"...on Majix Radio!" the two girls yelled together.

"Never!" said Musa in astonishment.

"Uh-huh!" Nini nodded. "The Melody Sistas sound has crossed dimensions!"

"And they still don't know who we are!"

"It won't take long for everyone to figure it out though."

"After all, we did tell everyone we're from the Harmonic Nebula, didn't we?" Nini said with a grin.

"Wow... so you REALLY are the Melody Sistas!"

A vague look of astonishment appeared on the twins' faces as they looked upon the gang of starstruck schoolgirls gazing back at them in awe.

Tegryn chuckled. "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Mimi, Nini... meet your biggest fans on Earth!"

"We have fans? Bouncin'!" Nini said, clapping her hands and grinning like an idiot.

"Um, hi!" Mimi said, waving nervously. "So you like our stuff, huh?"

"Do we ever!" Irma blurted out. "I mean, we only ever heard it on MP3 and the radio, but even then it sounds awesome!"

Cornelia nodded. "She's right, no-one's ever heard anything like it. Ever since your set, everyone's have been trying to copy your sound, but they just can't. How did you do get those effects anyway?"

The twins giggled.

"Oh, a little Sound Bubble here..."

"...a Bass Wave there..."

"...and Bob's your uncle! The Melody Sistas sound!"

"Sound Bubble? Bass Wave? What on Earth are those?"

"Oh, it's just basic music magic. It's kindergarten stuff... right Musa?"

"For sure!" Musa replied. "Any fairy from the Planet Melody can do it"

"Planet Melody? I thought you you guys said you were from the Harmonic Nebula." said Taranee.

"Planet Melody is located WITHIN the Harmonic Nebula." Tecna explained.

"I don't think it's really a nebula though," Musa added. "It's just a bunch of funky colours in space!"

"Oh, I see. So what's music magic then?" Taranee asked. "I've never heard of 'music magic' before."

"Haven't you? For us Melody fairies, music and sound are our element. It's where we get our power from - it makes us stronger."

"Music is an element? Sweet! We all have elements too, right girls?" Irma said enthusiastically. "Water's my thing. Hay-Hay's an air guardian, Corny does earth, Taranee's fire and Will's element is, um, some sort of energy... power, thingy. Quinty-something."

"Quintessence," Will corrected her. "It's an absolute energy force."

"Absolute energy?" Bloom wondered. "I guess that's kinda like the Dragonfire then. I'm just glad you're on our side!"

"Dragonfire?" Taranee asked.

"Yeah. It's an ancient source of power from my birth-planet."

"Does that mean you do fire magic as well? Cool!"

"Yep, and so does Charlotte." Bloom replied, before continuing to list all of her friends' magical abilities.

Shortly afterwards, Irma turned to Tegryn. "So Teggy, what's your element then? Hmmm? Teggy? Teggy? Teggy! Hello-oooo?"

Tegryn jerked his head up as Irma frantically waved her hand in front of his face. His mind had wandered away from the conversation a while ago and he had been busy involving himself in something far more important - a spot of three-way pat-a-cake with Polli and Piff.

"Sorry Little Teg, what was that?" he asked.

"Oh, pay attention Big Irm!" Irma grinned - she couldn't tell what made her smile more; the nickname Tegryn had come up with for her, or the one she had just made up on the fly just for him. "I said, what's your element?"

"My element? What do you mean?"

"You know, the force of nature... or technology in Tecna's case... where your powers come from. Your element." Taranee explained.

"Ah, right. My element. It's, um... oh... you know what? I haven't got the foggiest."

"You mean you don't know?"

Tegryn shook his head. "To be honest I don't think I really have an element. I just do whatever magic I'm taught."

"Yeah, that might be true." Musa cut in. "I've taught him a few music spells, but he sure ain't a music fairy."

"And if he really does have an element, it's definitely not fire." Charlotte added. "He's pyrophobic." (1)

"Pyrophobic?" said Taranee, her forehead screwed up. "You mean he's afraid of fire?"

"Uh-huh."

Tegryn shuddered. The thought of fire was enough to give him the willies by itself, but the thought of fire actually WITHIN his body, shooting out of him, consuming all that stood before him in front of his very eyes... he gulped and shook his head, trying desperately to get that disturbing thought out of his mind as quickly as possible.

"Right, it's pretty logical that fire isn't his element." Tecna pondered. "So what does that leave?"

"Maybe I can help." Will suggested as she pulled a small crystal attached to a cord out from under her top. "I can use this, the Heart of Kandrakar, to find his magical energy, and therefore his element."

"How?" Tegryn asked.

"Just come and sit next to me."

Tegryn started to get up, but was stopped by Tune who had suddenly popped up right in front of him.

"Oh no you don't young man - you're not disobeying the nurse again!"

"But I'm only going over there - it's barely a couple of metres."

"That's beside the point. The nurse has given you specific instructions not to leave your bed on two occasions now, and after everything she's done for you today, and indeed ever since you came here to Alfea, I think it's only right that you follow this one little request. After all, what kind of person would deliberately MMMMF! FMFMF! MFFFFMF!"

Tune's tirade was cut short by Tegryn's hand being strategically placed over her mouth, as he tentatively got out of his bed and sat on the other facing Will.

"Okay, I just need you to stay still and clear your mind, okay?" Will said, placing her hand gently and perhaps a little nervously on his chest. Tegryn nodded, barely noticing the deep magenta glow that had suddenly began to shine forth from the Heart.

"Ooh, I wonder what element he is. I bet it's air! He already has kind of a link to my family, so maybe that's it!" Hay Lin said excitedly.

"No way, it's definately water." said Irma. "You can tell by those luscious blue eyes of his!"

"Ahem! Helloo-o, Irma! Fiancée still in the room!" Cornelia spoke in a hushed tone, obviously none-too-impressed by her friend's lack of tact.

Musa laughed at their banter. "It's true though... he does have luscious eyes! Dontcha Teggy?"

But Tegryn didn't reply, for he and Will were both elsewhere as the young girl used the Heart to probe his spirit. For a while they sat, motionless, expressionless, not saying a thing, until eventually Will broke the silence.

"Hmmm... yes... I'm getting something here... he has a definite affinity with the earth..."

"The earth! I knew it!" Cornelia cried happily.

"I guess it kinda makes sense." Musa said smiling. "After all, he spent almost his entire life either walking on it, sleeping on it or living off it."

"Yes, but have you ever seen him doing anything even remotely like earth magic?" asked Layla.

Musa shook her head. "No, not at all. Maybe it's something he hasn't tapped into yet."

"Yes he has!" cried Mirta. "When me and him were fighting that creep Kaiser, he did some sort of weird earth spell on the witches. Oh, how can I describe it? He kinda made the earth sort of rise up and wrap around their bodies and then harden into rock. They were totally trapped! Don't you remember? No wait, of course you don't - you were all asleep at the time, weren't you?" she giggled.

"Hmm. So earth IS his element after all..."

Musa's conclusion was quickly interrupted by Will. "No. No it's not. He may have a connection with the earth, but that's not his element. It's..." she said, a look of concern and worry suddenly setting up camp on her pretty face. "No... no, that can't be right..."

"What can't be right? What is it?"

"I found the source of his power but... it's darkness!"

"DARKNESS?!" the astounded en-masse cry rang out.

Will nodded.

"But... how can that be? Teggy's anything but evil!" Irma said, looking just as perplexed as everyone else, as well as a tad upset.

"That's just it." Will replied, equally perplexed. "There's no evil in him, just... darkness."

"Of course! He was evil for a little bit, but we performed a purification spell on him." Musa explained. "At the time, we thought that we had driven out all the darkness, but I guess it was just the evil we'd got rid of."

"But I don't understand... how can darkness be the source of his power? How did it get into him in the first place?"

"Well, it all started just under a year ago, when I was trying to find my way home to China" explained Tegryn as he came out of the trance. "I had just entered Majix, although quite how I managed to cross into another dimension I'll never know - I thought I was in Spain at the time!"

"His lousy sense of direction again?" Will whispered to Musa.

"Yep, working overtime!" she tittered.

"A-HEM! So anyway, I'd been trekking through this forest and I came to a big lake, so I stopped for a well-earned breather. Next thing I know, I was confronted by a gang of three witches who were obviously itching for a fight."

"Witches? You have real-life witches here?" Irma asked.

"Of course, don't you remember him mentioning that when we first met him?" Taranee answered. "He said they have a bad rep here."

"Yes, that's right. Most of them are a pain in the butt... except for Mirta here - she's a hundred-percent sweety. But the three who I bumped into, Icy, Darcy and Stormy... now THEY are just plain nasty - I hope you NEVER get to meet them. Anyway, like I said, they were itching for a fight. I tried to defuse it but they weren't having any of it. A minute or two later, there I was, flat on my back, my body smashed to pieces and close to kicking the bucket, when Darcy comes up and zaps me straight in the head. I think she just meant to leave a marker so she could have fun terrorising my dreams later on, but as it turned out she'd left a spark of her own magic inside me, and her magic just happens to be based on darkness. So that's how darkness became the original source of my power."

"Ouch." said Irma, wincing. "So what happened next?"

Tegryn smiled. "Luckily for me, a certain gorgeous music fairy just happened to be in the neighbourhood. She heard everything that happened and came to that spot, only to find me left for dead. She brought me here to Alfea, and she stuck with me as I got better. Even though I was in a coma for two weeks, she stayed by my side the whole time. She kept me company when I woke up, and during that time we just clicked, and we got closer and closer and... well, you can guess the rest. I tell ya, she's done so much for me - she's loved me, she turned me away from evil, she's shown me things and taught me things I would never have dreamed of a year ago, she's reunited me with my long-lost family... and after all that, here we are back where we started!"

He looked at Musa as he said this to see that she was looking back lovingly at him. As they held each other's hands and gazed at each other as only two lovers could, the others looked on happily, basking in the glow of the pure affection being played out in front of them. Even through all the darkness, hurt and pain that Musa and Tegryn had to endure together, the fact that they were still so close, so inseparable, so in love...

There was no other way to describe the scene - it was simply heartwarming.

* * *

**1. Tegryn's pyrophobia was an unfortunate side-effect of a purification spell performed on him towards the end of my second fanfic 'Back To The Old School'** - http:// www. fanfiction. net/ s/ 3104189/ 35/ 


	11. He Makes The Earth Move For Me

**Thanks to: Meg (or is it Female Teggy?!), Spongey, Sokai and Dinurs for their reviews, and the BBC (who I've just discovered have been showing WITCH for a few months)**

**No Thanks to: the BBC for not bothering to advertise the fact that they've been showing WITCH, and the bastard cold virus which is making me feel really crappy right now (grrr...)**

**Random Quote: Whatever you do, don't mention the war. I did once but I think I got away with it.** (Fawlty Towers)

* * *

"There's no way this is a school - it's way too beautiful!" 

A few hours had passed, and the sun was preparing to make its daily journey to the other side of the horizon, painting the sky with a tinge of red as it went. Will and Tegryn had been discharged from the infirmary, much to Tegryn's relief - being a wanderer at heart, he just wasn't one for staying still and he'd been positively climbing the walls to get out (not literally though, thanks to Tune's lap-sitting vigil).

And so the Alfea girls were treating their guests to a grand tour of the castle. They had taken care of the obligatory boring bits fairly quickly - the library, the classrooms, the dining hall - and they were passing through the central courtyard and admiring the castle from the ouside when Cornelia noticed something a tiny bit odd.

"What's that?"

"Erm, that's my room." Anyuna replied, pointing up to the small balcony looking over them.

"No, not that... that!" she said, pointing at a slight dip in the ground, a couple of metres wide, running in a straight line for almost a hundred yards up to the wall below Anyuna's balcony which still bore some very faint scorch marks. "It looks like some sort of furrow."

"Oh, that. That's Teggy's handiwork, that is. Our least favourite witches decided to bring their brother along to cause some trouble, and Teggy managed to get in a good shot on that loser."

"A good shot? Looks more than good to me."

"Oh yeah, Teggy gets pretty powerful when he's steamed"  
"...and nothing gets him more steamed than someone hurting his girlf!" the twins explained.

"Woo! Now this I gotta see!" said Hay Lin as she placed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.

"Eh? What's she doing?" asked Bloom.

"Hay Lin can see into the past through using sound. Look, there she goes..." Will explained as her friend began to do her thing. The crowd looked on as Hay Lin began to direct her efforts. Her face took on a number of expressions - fear, amazement, horror, excitement - as the events of that massive encounter were played out before her very eyes. Kaiser's sickening attack on Musa, Tegryn, Mirta and Layla's brave efforts, the Rage Blast that caused the damage to Alfea's grounds, Mirta's awesome new-found powers, and the teamwork between Tegryn, Mirta and Darcy as they finally sent that maniac into Limbo - Hay Lin had witnessed them all thanks to her powers, and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the playback ended and she returned back to the present.

"Teggy, that's some serious firepower you got there! And if anyone did THAT to my crush, I'd do exactly the same thing - it'd be totally worth it, even if it did cause all that damage."

"And they've tried so hard to repair that damage too, but they haven't quite got it right yet. It's such a shame, but at least it can barely be noticed now." Flora added.

Cornelia smiled as she turned to Tegryn. "Well Teggy, perhaps we can do some repairs of our own - you wanna learn some earth magic?"

"No time like the present!" he answered, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically.

"Okay, just watch me. Keep an eye on the ground by the wall." Cornelia held out her hands and closed her eyes as they took on a faint glow. Slowly, the patch of ground nearest to the wall began to rise and level off, leaving a perfectly flat finish.

"Oh, very nice!" Tegryn applauded.

"Thank you - now it's your turn! Level off that patch over there," she replied, pointing at a spot safely away from the building. "Just hold out your hands like I did, close your eyes and focus your attention on that one spot."

Tegryn did as he was instructed.

"Can you feel anything yet?"

"No, not yet, I... wait... yes... yes, I think so... I can feel... some sort of connection."

"Good. Keep your focus, and just think what you want to happen. Think about what form you want that patch of ground to take, and make it happen SLOWLY."

Tegryn took in a few deep breaths as he concentrated all his efforts.

"Yes! Yes, that's it, I think I've got... oh."

His voice trailed away in disappointment as he opened his eyes only to be greeted by what could only be described as a giant molehill towering above them.

"Ah... I think I may have overdone it just a teensy bit."

"Never mind. Just focus again, and this time concentrate on bringing it down a touch."

Tegryn closed his eyes again, drew in a deep breath and concentrated hard on the molehill. He could feel the energy flowing through him, he could feel the earth doing his bidding, he could feel... his foot slipping down a slope that definately wasn't there before. He opened his eyes and took a step back, shaking his head in frustration. The giant molehill had now been replaced by a smooth, shallow, almost-perfectly round crater.

"One last try Teggy," Musa urged, patting his shoulders like a manager urging her fighter on for just one more round. "Come on baby, you can do it!"

He closed his eyes once more and applied himself totally. He was gonna do it this time, he could feel it. As he felt the energy starting to flow through him once more, he could visualise the ground raising up, and the crater slowly vanishing. As it did so, he felt a great feeling of elation - he was doing it, he was really doing it!

BOOM!

That elation was short lived as he was blown off his feet by the sudden explosion, landing hard on his rear end. He coughed as a thick dust cloud quickly blanketed the entire group, and tutted as he picked a small clod of turf off the top of his head.

"Somehow, I get the feeling I need more practice!"

"Wow, I was just thinking the exact same thing - what a coincedence!" Cornelia said, laughing as she quickly tidied away the blast hole that Tegryn had so carelessly left behind, before tidying it up with a lush covering of grass.

"Oh, very impressive young lady. I assume you must be one of our visitors from Earth."

Cornelia span around to see Principal Faragonda standing behind her. She laughed nervously, guessing correctly that Faragonda was a figure of authority here.

"Thanks! Um, yes, we're from Earth. How did you know?" she asked politely.

"News travels quickly around here. Will you be staying for long?"

"A day at least. Will's not allowed to jump dimensions for another 24 hours - nurse's orders."

Faragonda smiled pleasantly. "Well I trust the girls are making you feel most welcome." she said before turning to Tegryn, who was busy trying to dust himself down.

"Tsk tsk. Mr Devanallt, I should've guessed you'd have something to do with this. What is it with you and our gardens anyway? Do you have a grudge against them or something?"

"I'm sorry Principal. I was just practicing a spot of earth magic."

"Earth magic, eh? I see. In that case, might I make a suggestion? In future, how about practicing somewhere else, where explosions and large craters aren't quite so noticable. Anyway, this isn't why I'm here. I actually came to speak to Charlotte."

Charlotte looked surprised. "Me? Why?"

"It appears there's some sort of trouble on your homeworld. Red Fountain are dispatching a group of specialists to investigate, and I'd like you to accompany them as a guide."

"Specialists? Does that mean Riven?" she asked, wide-eyed in expectation.

"Hmmm... yes, I do believe Riven is part of the group, as well as your other friends."

"EEEEEE!" she screamed, skipping around excitedly. "I get to show Riven my homeworld! I get to show Riven my homeworld!" Suddenly she stopped, gasping as she realised something which, as any girl would tell you, is vitally important to any serious relationship.

"I CAN INTRODUCE HIM TO MY PARENTS!"


	12. The Golden Rule

**Part 12 and still going strong, just like that bloody cold virus. I gotta say, it's given my voice a bit of a sexy husk at the moment. Reminds me of that episode of Friends.**

**Thanks to: Meg, Spongey and Sokai for their reviews. It's my birthday!... not really.**

**No Thanks to: Toon Disney for annoying Meg so much. I mean, dropping WITCH in favour of Power Rangers? Sheesh!**

**Random Quote: ****I've been down the morgue! I got an leg! I'm supposed to write an essay on it, but I think I just gonna stick it on the bonnet of my car!** (The Young Ones)

* * *

While the day had been filled with drama (not to mention a slight headache), the night was thankfully peaceful and calm, and Musa and Tegryn had been making the most of it, sitting up on the castle roof gazing up at the stars in the clear moonlit sky... or enjoying whatever natural wonders just happened to come into view. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so the two lovers made their way back to the girls' dorm, but as Tegryn opened the door for his fiancée (as any gentleman should), they were greeted by Irma and Hay Lin dressed in their pyjamas.

"A-HEM! And just where do you think you're going?" Irma glared playfully at Tegryn, pushing him away as he tried to enter.

"Well, I was just coming in to say Hi to everyone before I turn in, like I always do. Is there a problem?"

"Haven't you forgotten something?"

Tegryn scratched his head. "No, I don't think so. Why, did you ask me to get you something?"

"Sheesh! We're having a slumber party tonight! Remember, we were talking about it a couple of hours ago!"

"Or did you just think we were wearing pyjamas for fun?" Hay Lin added, grinning as she always seemed to do.

"A slumber party? O-kay. I don't think I remember anyone mentioning that... maybe I was too busy eating or something. Ah well. Mind you, that still doesn't explain why I can't come in though."

The two girls looked at each other in disbelief, then turned back to Tegryn.

"Don't you know the Golden Rule?" Hay Lin asked.

"The Golden Rule?"

"Yeah, Slumber Party Rule #1..."

"NO BOYS ALLOWED!" Irma and Hay Lin yelled together with a little giggle. Tegryn looked at them for a few seconds.

"Ah. I see. Well, I could just..." he said, attempting to walk in while the duo were caught off guard, but the girls were having none of it. Before he knew it he found himself taking off, a VIP passenger of Air Hay Lin, and he soon found himself floating well away from the door and deposited on his backside with a soft bump.

Musa couldn't help smiling. "Sorry babe, looks like you're gonna have to sit this one out."

"Never mind," he replied, trying to hide his disappointment. "It'll give me a chance to start my essay. Polli? You want me to go and get your favourite pyjamas for this girly night in?"

The little pixie shook her head and held on to his arm as tightly as she could. The poor little thing, she'd spent the entire summer away from him, and there was no way on Majix that they were gonna be seperated tonight. Tegryn smiled and patted her head tenderly.

"I guess that's a no then!"

"And I think I'll join you," Tune said as she flitted out of the room. "Slumber parties have never been my cup of tea, and besides, there's no way you'll catch me wearing pyjamas - they're just so inelegant!"

"Oh, thanks Tune!" Tegryn said, beaming. "Maybe you could teach me how to make my handwriting as neat as yours!"

"Make your handwriting neater? My dear Tegryn, you've got more chance of teaching a Spit Monster to sing soprano!"

And so, after getting a goodnight kiss from his beloved, Tegryn trudged back to his room, cradling Polli in one arm and Tune's miniature four-poster bed in the other, ready to get down to work whilst the others got ready to indulge in that girliest of traditions - the sleepover.

* * *

A few hours in and the party was in full swing - large amounts of cookies and candy had been eaten, Musa's new stereo was going at full blast (with the noise neatly contained inside the room thanks to its cutting edge sound bubble technology), and plenty of talking had been done on subjects as wide and varied as schoolwork, boys, the joys of being a redhead (Will and Bloom were certainly in their element on THAT subject) and of course, magic. 

"One thing still bugs me," said Taranee, who by this time was looking absolutely fabulous thanks to Stella's expertise in the makeover department. "You guys said you're fairies, but none of you seem to have wings. What gives?"

Musa chuckled as she stood up. "Oh, we have wings alright - check these babies out!" Within a few seconds she was transformed, standing before them in her familiar short red dress with its transparent midriff, and sporting her pale blue dragonfly-style wings. "So, whaddya think?" she asked, giving the earth-girls a twirl.

"Cool!" said Irma in admiration. "But you ain't the only one with wings, you know. Take a look at this!"

One transformation sequence later, and Irma was stood in the middle of the room in full Guardian mode. Mimi and Nini got up to get a closer look.

"Whoa! Wings with attitude!" said Mimi as she inspected Irma's bat-like appendages.

"Yeah, and your body!" said Nini who, like the other fairies, was rather taken by surprise by Irma's now more mature form. "I guess we'll have to call you 'Not-Quite-So-Little Little Teggy' from now on!"

"Heh. Yep, all the better for kicking Phobos and his cronies' butts in style!" Irma replied.

"Phobos? Who's that?" Bloom asked.

"Just some loser who's decided he wants to take over the universe... well, not on our watch, bud!"

"He may be a loser, but he's a very powerful loser," Will inturrupted. "He's the ruler of a world called Meridian, and the reason why he's so powerful is because he's taken all of its magical energy for himself..."

* * *

Many miles away, in the dark, dank underground fortress that is Shadowhaunt, a low chuckle echoed softly through its cavernous chambers, adding an even more sinister tinge to its already forboding atmosphere. 

"A man with an entire world's magical energy at his disposal? Now that sounds very interesting indeed." Lord Darkar said thoughtfully as he stared intently at a glowing orb through which he could see everything that was being played out in Alfea. Being as powerful as he was, he was aware of all the forces which flowed through this realm, and ever since he felt the opening of the strange portal through which Will had been brought into Majix, he had been probing, searching, keeping tabs on these newcomers, just on the off-chance that something interesting may come out of it.

"Interesting? What do you mean LD?" Icy asked, who as always was in attendance with her two sisters-in-evil. "Are you planning on making an alliance with this Phobos guy?"

"An alliance? Whatever for?" Darkar snorted. "No, I don't make alliances easily. I was thinking more along the lines of travelling to his kingdom and taking those powers. With those powers at MY disposal, nothing will get in our way, not even those Winx fairies. And besides, I know how much you three are itching to see some real action - it's been a while, after all!"

A laugh rang out from the three witches as they took this in.

"Hear that ladies? We're going on a little power trip!"


	13. Charlotte's Winter Wonderland

**Okay, time for a change of scene. Enjoy the ride, and make sure you pack plenty of sunblock!**

**Thanks to: Meg (yes,** **Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch** **IS a real place!), Spongey (hope your wrist is behaving itself now) and Gabby (enough MORAs for ya?)**

**Random Quote: Suis-je bovvered? Regardez mon visage - est-ce qu-il est bovvered? Est-ce que vous disrespectez ma famille? Est-ce que vous appelez ma mere un pikey?** (Lauren, from The Catherine Tate Show)

* * *

Charlotte gazed excitedly out of the ship's cockpit as Nahri loomed large in front of them. Of course, she loved being at Alfea and visiting many new places, but coming home was always special, especially now that she was accompanied by her darling Riven. And yet despite this sweet anticipation, a nagging doubt was fixed into the back of her mind - what was so urgent that they would be called out to her homeworld like this? What could possibly be so wrong? Everything certainly seemed normal enough as the speeder effortlessly entered the planet's atmosphere - the parched, hard-baked sandy-yellow ground dotted with large green patches here and there, the immense craggy mountains and rock formations that added a bit of interest to the landscape, all under an almost unnaturally pale yellow-blue sky that was cloudless the whole world over. 

She gave a little start as a hand was gently placed on her shoulder, but was soon content when she recognised that warm touch.

"Come on babe, better get yourself strapped in - we'll be landing soon." Riven whispered in her ear. Charlotte grinned as she did as she was told, completely unable to hold her enthusiasm.

"Oh Riven, this is gonna be so great! There are so many things I want to show you!"

"Don't forget, we're on a mission here - maybe we'll get to do some sightseeing later, after we're finished."

* * *

The ship continued on its course, skimming over endless miles of featureless desert and occasionally flying over the odd small settlement until finally they approached the capital city of Nahri where they were joined by a small ship belonging to the royal guard, escorting them to a landing strip near a large building in the centre of the city. One textbook landing later, Prince Sky prepared to meet their escorts but as he opened the ship's door, he was sent reeling by the intense heat that hit him like some invisible wall. 

"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise as he regained his composure and started down the gangway.

"Hmmmm." Charlotte said, rubbing her arms as she went. "Feels a bit chilly today."

Sky could hardly believe his ears. "Chilly? Yes of course, chilly! Erm... you ARE joking, aren't you?!"

She shook her head.

"But it must be touching forty degrees celsius out here!"

"42·7 degrees, to be exact" said Timmy, checking his wrist-computer.

"Like I said, chilly... but then again, it IS the middle of winter."

"WINTER?!" The boys said almost in perfect harmony, looking at the fire fairy as though she had completely lost the plot.

"Uh-huh," she replied in a matter-of-fact way. "Didn't you notice the way the planet was lying as we approached it? This world orbits twin suns in a figure-of-eight pattern. I don't quite know how it managed to get like that - I don't think anyone does, but anyway that's not for here. At the moment, the planet and the suns are in total alignment with Nahri on the outside, meaning we're only receiving heat from one of them, and therefore the days and nights are more or less of equal length. But when Nahri is in between the two suns..." she said, stretching her arms up into the sky and sighing happily. "We get no nights at all - just beautiful, glorious, hot summer sunshine, 67 hours a day!"

"Phew!" said Riven, pulling at the collar of his uniform. "So if this is winter, how hot does it get during the summer?"

"Sometimes hot enough to boil water."

"Yowch!"

"Oh, it's not that bad," she said as she plucked a small Nahri chilli off a nearby wild bush and munched it happily. "We're used to it here. We don't even get sunburnt! Nahri chilli?"

"Erm, no thanks." Riven replied, politely declining her offer with a chuckle - he still remembered Tegryn's face when he made the mistake of trying one... and he didn't really fancy having his face turn the same colour as his hair. (1)

"Aww, go on. Just a little?" said pleaded, trying to force it into his mouth.

Charlotte's attempt to introduce her sweetheart to the local cuisine was quickly cut short by Brandon. "Hey guys, heads up - playtime's over." he said, motioning towards two guards walking towards them, wearing thick cream coloured tunics bearing the royal symbol - an orange square with two quarter-circles in opposite corners with large rays shooting out from each, clearly representing the two suns.

The first guard said gruffly. "The King wishes to speak with you. You will come with us immediately."

Sky leant over and spoke quietly to Brandon. "These guys seem a little hot under the collar."

"He's not the only one." Brandon replied, pulling at his clothes to try and get some ventilation going around his armpit region. "When we get back to Red Fountain, I'm gonna have to have a serious word with someone about these uniforms. I'm baking here. Charlotte, how do you guys survive in this place?"

"Oh, it's no big deal. We've acclimatised so well, we hardly even sweat!"

As they were quietly led to the palace, the party admired the city's unique architecture. All the buildings were constructed from the same stone which seemed to make up the entire planet's surface, and were built in such a seamless and natural looking way - it almost seemed as though they been sculpted straight out of the ground. And beautiful sculptures they were too, with crisp lines and undulating curves flowing almost fluid-like, framing their spaces in a uniquely enthralling fashion. It was obvious that, seemingly in defiance of their harsh surroundings, the residents of Nahri had a keen eye for art and architecture, for it wasn't only the buildings that caught the eye, but also the many works of art that were dotted around the city - it was as if the local museum had decided their vaults were simply too full and so just dumped a myriad of sculptures and statues on the streets, just for the hell of it. Whatever the reason, they added an awe-inspiring ambience to the place.

Charlotte giggled and skipped over to one such piece, an abstract sculpture of what appeared to be three rectangular strips, each a varying pale shade of terracotta in colour, wound around each other to form a series of tight rounded curves. "Hey Riven, what do you think of that one?"

Riven looked at it thoughtfully for a second. "Ummm, I dunno. I've never really been into art. It's always been more Helia's thing."

"Yes, but do you like it?"

"I guess so. I mean, the shapes that those twirly things make are... interesting."

"It certainly is interesting." said Helia. "The deliberate joining of the three strips at various points around the centre seems to suggest some sort of connection or bond, perhaps between three people."

"That's right, yes!" Charlotte said happily. "It's me and my two big sisters Chantelle and Cherise."

Riven looked astonished when he heard this, and also a little sheepish. "You? Do you mean you made this?"

"Uh-huh!" she nodded. "I did it a couple of years ago in high school. It's supposed to represent a sisterly togetherness thing - no matter where we are, no matter how far apart we may be, we'll always be together."

"Wow! You're certainly talented!" said Sky.

"Thanks, although my sisters have always been more arty than me, and I've always been better at magic - that's why I went to Alfea instead of art college. Hey Riven, maybe when we get back to Majix I can do a little sculpture of you!"

"Well... okay, but only if you do my good side!"

Brandon burst out laughing when he heard this. "What? You have a GOOD side?!"

The gang's raucous laughter was cut short by the gruff guard. "I'm glad you find our city so appealing, but we really don't have any time to waste."

Silently, and suitably chastised, they followed the guards into the palace. Like the rest of the city, it was constructed from the same stone and, although it was a good deal larger (as you'd expect from a royal palace), it more-or-less shared the same styling with its surroundings. It was grand without being pompous, wondrous without being overwhelming, rich without being excessive. Large banners hung from its high walls, all bearing the same twin-sun mark as the guards' tunics. Guards stood at their posts at regular intervals, and staff and servants busied themselves doing whatever duties they were doing.

Eventually, after what seemed like ages, they arrived at a large set of double doors at the end of a long, wide, brightly-lit corridor.

"This must be the Throne Room." said Sky. "Right, let's follow royal protocol to the letter. You know the drill guys."

The doors opened and the group walked in. At the end of the room, a large imposing man was sat on a throne which had been set on a small step, his short red beard adding an almost intimidating touch to his features. Next to him sat his wife, smaller in stature to her husband but equally as majestic.

The party slowly approached the King and stopped.

"Your majesty," Prince Sky said, bowing courteously. "We are the party from Majix. I am Prince Sky or Eraklion, this is Brandon, Timmy, Helia, Jason, Riven and this is Charlotte - she's a resident of Nahri."

Charlotte curtsied politely as she was introduced. The King nodded.

"I am King Armand, ruler of Nahri, and this is my wife Queen Yvette. I am happy you've arrived so promptly. Our planet is facing a crisis like none we've ever faced before."

"So what exactly is happening?" Sky asked.

"Our water supplies are inexplicably running out."

"Water supplies? Pardon my asking Your Majesty, but how could such a hot planet have water supplies?"

"We have vast reservoirs, many miles underground. Normally these are maintained at a healthy level safe from the heat of the suns, but recently they have dropped alarmingly."

"Have any investigations been conducted?"

"Yes. We have sent teams of engineers and scientists to investigate."

"So? What did they find?"

The King shook his head sadly.

"We don't know. Out of the thirty or so people that went down, only one has returned and he has been quite unable to tell us anything. He has been driven mad with fright. He claims that there is some sort of monster down there, but we've made repeated sweeps with our underground scanners and they've all failed to pick anything up."

"So you want us to go down and investigate?"

"Yes. Your team's reputation for bravery and skill in battle is well-known, young prince - that is why I specifically requested your services."

Sky bowed once again. "I am honoured, Your Majesty. We shall go to your reservoirs immediately. You can count on us."

* * *

**1. To see just what the deal is with Nahri Chillies, see chapter four of my fourth fanfic The Big Question (www . fanfiction . net / s / 3108242 / 4 / )**


	14. In The Court of Prince Phobos

**Thanks to: Meg (who seems to like Riven's arse... or have I read that wrong?) and Spongey for their kind reviews, and for their new, slightly faster server for us Euro-types..**

**Random Quote: Henrietta we got no flowers for you, Just these three miserable cts sitting on the back seat **(the opening lines to 'Henrietta', by The Fratellis)

* * *

Prince Phobos sat quietly alone in his throne room, his eyes closed as he pondered his next move. His plan to split up the Guardians had only been a partial success - without their leader, the remaining girls would be weaker but still no pushovers... but that wasn't his most pressing concern right now. He was the supreme ruler of Meridian, monarch of everything and everyone... well, not quite everyone, for a small but increasingly strong band of underground rebels had just emerged, threatening to break the peace and harmony that his absolute rule would otherwise bring to this world. 

And that was what annoyed him so much.

In his arrogance he just couldn't understand it - why weren't these rebels content? Why wouldn't anyone be content under his glorious rule? Why would anyone want to break his total grip on his realm? Why would anyone want to deny his total majesty? How could anyone, least of all these disgusting lowlife peasants, dare to stand up to him?

How dare they? How dare they? HOW DARE...

His silent raging was interrupted as he became aware of somebody in his prescence. Some-BODIES, to be precise. And what's more, they were in his prescence without his express permission.

"Who dares to disturb my meditations?" he demanded, all the while keeping his eyes closed.

"Hmmph! Judging by your outfit, I'd say you were disturbed before we even got here!"

"WHAT?!" he snapped, his eyes now open wide in anger. He glared at the three young witches who stood cockily before him. "How dare you insult me!"

Icy smirked as she replied. "We dare because we can!"

Phobos' face darkened as he drew himself up. "Don't you realise who you're addressing?"

"We're perfectly aware of who you are," Darcy responded, "And that's why we're here - you have something we want."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Your power."

"My power?!" Phobos replied, laughing hard at this sheer insolence. "You think I'm going to share Meridian with you just because you demand it?"

"Not THAT kind of power. We don't want your poxy little planet, just your powers!" Stormy yelled impatiently. "And whether you like it or not, we're gonna take 'em from you!"

"Really? Well, let's just see what my guards have to say about this!" he said, motioning towards the large oak door standing at the entrance to this room.

"I don't think so." said Icy with a wave of her hand. In an instant, the door and windows were blocked up with thick formations of ice, adding a distinct chill and an eery blue tinge to the chamber. "There, now nobody will disturb us. Let's see... where were we?"

"I do believe we were about to give this guy a good shoeing and take his powers." Darcy answered.

"You will NOT!" he roared as he suddenly unleashed a massive barrage of magical energy on the three girls, slamming Darcy hard into a nearby wall and knocking the others off their feet. Icy and Stormy quickly picked themselves up, cursing that they had been caught off-guard so easily.

"So, it looks like this guy means business... fine by me!" Stormy yelled as she fired off a volley of lightning bolts. Phobos didn't look in the least bit worried though as he raised his left hand, blocking them effortlessly with a sly smile on his face.

"I wonder how well you grin when you're frozen!" Icy growled as she launched her trademark Ice Coffin attack.

Again, the prince didn't flinch, but raised his right hand. He smiled with a smug sense of self-satisfaction as the bolt exploded off him in a shower of icy shards.

"Impossible! No-one has ever blocked my Ice Coffin before!"

"Is this really the best you have?" he gloated, revelling in the shock and disbelief of his opponents. "The way you were talking to me just now, I was thinking you'd be some sort of challenge, but alas it seems I was mistaken. Now I present to you a choice - either I allow you to walk away now, or you can remain here and be crushed by the hand of the all-powerful Prince Phobos. What will it be?"

"I pick choice number three - SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Darcy shouted defiantly as she hit him hard from behind with a dark fireball. He staggered momentarily before quickly regaining his composure, chuckling threateningly.

"Very well - if you're so eager to meet your end here today, so be it. But I won't be merciful and grant you a quick end... instead you will suffer a death by a thousand cuts!"

Phobos raised his hands slowly by his sides, and as he did so a sinister-looking armoury of ghostly daggers materialised behind him, all of them pointing in the witches' direction. With a flourish, he flung his hands in the witches' direction and the arsenal of gleaming blades shot off, bearing down on the Trix at lightning speed. However, Icy wasn't in the least bit worried - as cool as an ice witch should be, she threw up a frozen barrier and watched on as the knives bounced off harmlessly and vanished into thin air.

"Hmph! Well two can play at that game. Ready girls?"

Stormy nodded with a glint in her eye. As she raised her hands in the air, a strong gust of wind could be felt as currents of air started to swirl in from the four corners of the room, quickly getting stronger and stronger until a pair of tornados suddenly formed in front of them, standing tall and upright like an ominous pair of pillars, sucking up the chips of ice and other debris that had been thrown up in the battle so far.

"Now to give these babies a little boost!" said Darcy as she focused her attentions on the twin twisters. The tornadoes darkened, becoming stronger with each passing second and giving off an intense purple glow as her own dark vortexes became infused with them.

"And now to add the finishing touches!" Icy added, drawing in all her strength before letting loose a huge hail of ice darts into the middle of the two cyclones. The vicious spikes span around and around, absorbing the dark magic contained within the storm until shooting out the other end, their speed and strength greatly magnified.

Taken aback, Prince Phobos fired off bolts of his own, attempting to shoot the deadly darts down in mid-air, but it was no use - their sheer number and speed was simply too much and they easily broke through his defences, strafing him mercilessly, leaving him bleeding heavily with large rips in his robes and skin. He winced in pain as he picked himself up, gingerly putting his hand up to his right shoulder and snapping off a large ice dart that had embedded itself there.

"So, 'your highness'... where's this death by a thousand cuts you promised us?" Icy gloated.

"Just surrender now and give us what we want!" Stormy yelled, raising her fist.

But the prince wasn't in the mood for surrendering. Far from it in fact, as the witches were about to find out. They looked around in astonishment as the normally dull-grey stone walls took on a faint green glow, and their victorious laughter was replaced by the prince's quiet, sinister chuckle.

"You pathetic little girls - did you really think I could be defeated by a few icicles? Did you really think you could defeat me here?"

"Oh mark my words, we WILL beat you here," Icy replied. "Yes, and we'll have great fun in shutting your mouth up for good while we're at it!"

Phobos tutted and shook his head as the glow from the walls grew brighter and a slight rumbling could be felt through the solid stone floor. "Is that really what you think? Then it's about time you witnessed the terrifying true power of Prince Phobos!"

At that cue, immense bolts of green lightning shot from the walls, bathing Prince Phobos in their energy and healing his wounds before their eyes. His maniacal laughter rang out through the chamber, echoing around the castle and sending a shudder of fear through all those of his subjects who heard it - a shudder of fear, for they knew what was coming...


	15. Clash of the Titans

**Blimey, part fifteen? Things are rattling on rather quickly now, aren't they?  
PS: is it just me, or has fanfiction's editor gone on the blink today?**

**Thanks to: Meg (the only one to comment on the last chapter), and Bristol Rovers for making it to the third round of the FA Cup where they now face the mighty Hereford (snigger!) **

**No Thanks to: Toon Disney, who seems to have made it their raison d'etre to annoy Meg as much as possible.**

**Random Quote: You're so colorful, its making me nauseous!** (Mai, from Aang The Last Avatar : Thanks Meg!)

* * *

Icy, Darcy and Stormy looked on impassively as Prince Phobos drew more and more power into him - if they were afraid, they certainly weren't showing it.

But was this an act of supreme bravery, or an act of supreme foolishness?

Probably option number two, judging by the sight that presented itself before them - the sight of the already-powerful regent somehow feeding from the walls, seeming to increasing in stature as he extracted strength from the fingers of energy that danced around the room. Eventually the light show died down and the prince stood before them, visibly fortified, with a faint aura surrounding his body and his eyes glowing.

"Do you understand now?" he sneered loudly. "This castle is more than just a mere building, it's more than just stone and mortar - it's a conduit through which all of Meridian's magical energy can be drawn to me. You girls wanted my power? NOW FEEL IT FOR YOURSELVES!"

With that, ultra-fierce bolts of lightning shot from his outstretched fingers and cannoned hard into the dark trio, smashing the breath out of them as it drove them into the wall behind them with tremendous force, a force that would've shattered a lesser being into a million pieces. But the Trix are made of sterner stuff and as they stood pinned by the crushing force of Phobos' attack, they looked at each other and nodded.

"That's it. All of this realm's power is in him now." Darcy grunted.

"It's time. Let's do it!" Icy replied.

The three girls closed their eyes and focused, crossing their arms in front of them as their Gloomixes started to glow with an intense brightness. As they drew upon their own inner strength, balls of energy started to form - one blue, one pink, one purple - surrounding their bodies in a protective shell, keeping Prince Phobos' attack at bay and growing ever-potent by the second until finally, Icy made their intentions clear.

"Sisters... GIVE ME YOUR POWER!"

At their command, the three balls merged slowly, their colours swirling into one another until, with a blinding flash, it formed a single ball, dissipating Phobos' lightning attack in an instant. The Prince looked aghast as out of the ball, a hellish figure emerged, feminine with twin ponytails, but nothing more than a black shadow except for the glowing Gloomixes around her neck and wrists, a shadow made even darker by the swirling black clouds that were suddenly billowing out of nothing overhead.

Phobos knew instantly what he was witnessing. It was the witches' combined form - MegaTrix.

"Interesting... you couldn't beat me seperately so you thought you'd try a combined effort," he said with a look of amusement on his face, before releasing an insane amount of energy in the girl's direction. With barely a flick of her wrist, she effortlessly deflected the attack and it drilled into a nearby wall, leaving huge chunks of debris strewn across the floor.

Undeterred, Phobos fired off a volley of shots at his opponent, one after the other. Normally, they were each powerful enough to floor a charging minotaur at a thousand paces, but against the collective power of the Trix, they were easily tossed aside - it was like flicking marshmallows into a fire. MegaTrix let out a quiet chuckle as a low rumbling started to emanate from the clouds above.

Glaring at the dark form, Phobos drew his hands in front of him, summoning up a larger ball of energy. "So you can deal with one shot at a time... let's see how well you handle ten at once!" With that, he flung his arms out, letting loose a broadside of bolts which careered almost randomly through the air before homing in on their target... but just as they were about to strike home, their target suddenly vanished.

"What?!"

As quickly as she vanished, MegaTrix reappeared barely ten yards in front of the prince. Before he could react, a huge tornado was summoned beneath him, sending him flying upwards and crashing hard into the ceiling with sickening force, then dropping back down towards the floor. Groggily, he picked himself up before he sent sent flying again, a mini-hurricane smashing him hard into a wall. MegaTrix grinned with malicious glee as she moved in for the kill, but a huge telekinetic wave from Prince Phobos returned the favour, sending her hurtling to the other side of the chamber before she could strike.

Skidding to a halt, MegaTrix turned to him and smiled. "Awww, don't tell me that's all the great Prince Phobos can do. Come on boy, try harder."

He snarled and wiped the blood from his mouth as he stood and charged himself up for a full-blooded strike, spurred on by her insulting reference to him as 'boy'. "Enough fooling around!" he yelled, "This finishes NOW!"

No response came from MegaTrix as she concentrated her efforts above her, raising herself up to the black clouds which all the while had been getting thicker and thicker, and had started to pulsate with an energy which seemed to fade in and out of the swirling mass. As MegaTrix yelled and threw her hands aloft, the cloud spectacularly erupted into life, spewing forth great torrents of power into her body before she channelled it into a single beam hurtling in Phobos' direction. He responded in kind, unleashing his own power into one great assault.

The two awesome attacks crashed into each other with apocalyptic force, like two sides of a scrum engaging each other with all their might, digging in deep, fighting hard for every inch, with both Phobos and MegaTrix pouring every ounce of strength they had into this battle of minds and magical muscle.

The stalemate continued until gradually, Phobos' force slowly began to advance, bit by bit, millimetre by millimetre. Determined to press home his advantage, he dug deep within his reserves in an effort to turn the screws just that little bit more. This was it... this impudent, disrespectful intruder would finally be punished for her misdemeanours. MegaTrix on the other hand seemed to ease back, as though she actually wanted him to win this tussle.

_"That's it - he's fully committed to the attack"  
"Now's our chance"  
"It's time for the final strike... GO!"_


	16. Darkar Rising

**It's Boxing Day, and you know what that means, don't you? Well, unless you live in the UK, you probably don't. In fact, even if you do live here, you don't anyway. It's a day of sales, crap football and half-decent movies on TV. **

Thanks to: Spongey and Meg, for their kind thoughts and reviews - you guys are stars. So's everyone else who reviews this (hint hint!) 

**Random Quote: Would you mind not farting while I'm trying to save the world?** (Doctor Who)

* * *

Phobos' eyes widened in delight at the sight of a thick cloud of dust that had quickly filled the room, his mighty attack blasting a gaping hole through the castle wall, seemingly obliterating his enemy in a single stroke. He smiled to himself - another foe vanquished by his mighty hand... but as he revelled in his victory, something hit him. Without warning, a single, purple bolt shot silently out of the cloud and hit him square between the eyes.

He reeled back in horror as the walls of the throne room started to bend and sway, as though they were nothing more than frail young trees caught in a stiff breeze. The floor twisted and churned underneath him and he fell to his knees, clutching his head as the Confusion spell took hold. He looked up at the cloud of dust, and as he did so he could see a wicked, evil face inside it, laughing at him, mocking him, enjoying this moment before it devoured him. And from this cloud, he could just make out three shapes approaching him.

"Heh. It doesn't matter how strong you are Princey-boy, your mind's just as vulnerable as everybody else's!" Darcy chuckled, her eyes glowing as she ratcheted up the pressure on his psyche.

"Ha! What a masterstroke - splitting up at the last second to make him think he'd beaten us! We rule!" Stormy gloated.

"Well, three heads are better than one!" Icy replied smugly.

"You... you won't... get... away with..." Phobos mumbled as he fired off a few lightning bolts in self-defence, which unfortunately for him were well-wide of their target, striking the ceiling and lightly showering the room with yet more rubble. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted off his feet and slammed against a wall by a huge gust of wind. He was powerless to resist, straining to get free of Stormy's gale but quite unable to do so.

Icy laughed. "Okay, we've got you right where we want you. Now be a good little dog and stay... ICE COFFIN!"

Her frozen attack struck it's helpless target, and in a matter of seconds the almighty ruler of Meridian was pinned for good, encased in a cocoon of ice save for his head. Shivering and badly dizzied, he looked up blearily at the dark Trio standing triumphantly over him as the room distorted itself around them, and over at the far side of the room, he could see another... a fourth figure - tall, imposing, dark maroon in colour, slowly emerging from an eery light, laughing sinisterly.

"Excellent! Excellent! I knew you three wouldn't let me down! And you've made quite a mess too - a good finishing touch." The figure strode over to Phobos and stared at him intently. "Darcy... you may release your hold on him now."

The prince blinked and fought for breath as the spell on his mind was broken. Now he could see who was addressing him - this ominous, almost skeletal being, a tattered cloak hanging from his shoulders like wispy tendrils, his face nothing more than a featureless black shadow with only his mouth visible under his beak-shaped helmet.

"Who are you?" Phobos demanded angrily.

"I am Lord Darkar, soon to be the ruler of all that exists - and yes, I'm afraid that includes you and your pathetic little kingdom. Like everyone else, you will be powerless to stop me. Do you have anything else to say before I claim your powers for my own?"

An evil look appeared on Phobos' face, a look that said 'I have a scheme - let's see if you take the bait'.

"I have no idea how you came to be aware of my powers, and quite frankly I don't care... but don't think for a minute that mine is the ultimate power in this universe."

"Just what do you mean?"

"There is another source. One that resides in Kandrakar, a domain that lies at the very centre of existance. Control Kandrakar, and you control everything! But first you need the key."

"Really, and what is this key?"

"It's a crystal called the Heart of Kandrakar, and it's currently in the possession of a young girl - release me and I will tell you where to find her."

Icy interrupted him. "Wait! The Heart of Kandrakar? That's the crystal that Earth brat Will used on Tegryn, isn't it?"

Stormy laughed in Phobos' face. "Oh dear. Looks like we don't need your help after all!"

"Yeah, thanks for the info!" Darcy added. "Come on LD, let's just destroy him now!"

Darkar held up his hand. "Not so fast. We may not need his information now, but he will still be useful to us."

Prince Phobos nodded. "That's right. I know the Guardian of the Heart and her friends. I know their strengths and weaknesses. Together, with our allied powers, we can defeat them and claim Kandrakar for ourselves!"

Darkar laughed loudly at this. "Claim it for OURselves? What ARE you talking about?"

"Now wait just a minute! You said..."

"I said you'd be helpful. I never said anything about an alliance!"

Phobos felt his heart drop when he heard this. His plan to worm his way out of this predicament was crashing down around him.

"But I thought we had a deal..."

Darkar smirked evilly. "Really? Well deal with THIS!" he yelled as he clasped Phobos' face with his hard elongated fingers. The chamber was quickly filled with the prince's screams as Darkar set to work, engulfing his head in a field of dark energy as he began drawing out his power in the cruelest way possible. And as Darkar absorbed Meridian's power into his own body, a strange thing began to happen. A faint black aura erupted around him, dancing around him like flames that carressed him rather than consumed him... but that wasn't all.

A transformation began to take place. His body grew taller and started to become more thick-set, almost muscular in places - even his spindly little backbone grew thicker. What could only be described as bony blades started to appear on his forearms, shoulders, back, ankles and toes, glistening like razor-sharp teeth that were hungry for the taste of flesh. A row of short, studded spikes ran down the centre of his head, in between a vicious pair of swept-back horns that had sprouted out from just above his eyes.

Darkar bellowed as he supped the last ounce of power from the fallen prince's body. He marvelled as he felt his new-found strength coursing through him, the dark flames around him growing ever larger, almost as if they were threatening to burst out of control. "Yes! YES! The Shadowfire has never burned so dark!"

"Hey LD. Weren't we supposed to get a share of that power?" Icy asked, her arms folded, looking slightly annoyed by Darkar's apparent selfishness.

"Oh, but you already have, my dear Icy. Can't you feel it?" Darkar replied as he released his grip on the near-unconscious Phobos. "Through me, the power in your Gloomix has increased many times over. The three of you are now more powerful than you've ever been before."

The girls looked at their dark charms - sure enough they were glowing fiercely, and they started to feel their greater power for themselves. Stormy looked particularly pleased.

"This is amazing! Come on, let test them out by wasting this loser world!" she said eagerly.

"No Stormy!" Darkar replied loudly. "We have more important things to attend to first. We'll return to Majix to put the next part of my plan into motion. Once we rule the universe and everything in it, then you can come back here and play with this world to your wicked heart's content."

And with that, Darkar raised his hand to open the portal... but no sooner had it opened, it immediately slammed shut. Confused, he tried again - same result.

"What is it? What's going on?" asked Darcy.

"There's something blocking the way, something preventing me from opening the portal back to Majix... some kind of barrier. No matter - I'll just treat it in the same way as I treat anything else that stands in my way... I'll smash straight through it!"

Darkar concentrated, pouring increasing amounts of force into breaching the invisible barrier until eventually, in a spectacular shower of sparks, the portal back to Majix was finally opened.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Alfea, the girls were just winding down after a hard night's slumber-partying and spin-the-bottling when all of a sudden Will shuddered uncontrollably. She sat up quickly in her sleeping bag, shivering and holding her body. She could tell that she had woken everybody else from their semi-sleep and that they were all looking at her wondering just what would make her act like this, but that didn't concern her - she couldn't help noticing that Bloom was also shuddering in exactly the same way.

"Hey Bloom? You felt it too?"

"Uh-huh," she replied shakily.

"Hey, what's going on? What did you guys feel?" Stella asked.

"I don't know Stell," Bloom answered, "But whatever it was, it wasn't good..." 


	17. Ifrit

**OK, its time for the first chapter of the new year, and things are hotting up, literally.**

**Thanks to: Meg, and a warm welcome to Angela, for their reviews.**

**A special I Love You to: My mother-in-law, who passed away in Indonesia last week. You'll be sorely missed Mum, may Allah grant you a place in paradise.**

**Random Quote: Don't waste your time or time will waste you** ('Knights of Cydonia', by Muse)

* * *

Charlotte and the Red Fountain specialists stood restlessly in the large lift as it slowly sank beneath the surface of Planet Nahri. 

"Man, it feels like we've been standing here forever." Riven grumbled.

"So how much further do we have to go?" Sky asked.

Timmy walked over to the control panel and checked the display. "According to this, we've just passed the thirty mile mark... which means there's just one or two more to go."

"Thank goodness for that. At least the temperature's more bearable down here." Sky replied.

"Hmph! Speak for yourself." said Charlotte, all bundled up in a pink winter jacket. "I'd hate to work down here - it's like a fridge!"

"Hmmm... it's not really that cold." Riven chuckled light-heartedly as he put his arm around her. "You're just not a cold-air girl, are you?" Charlotte smiled sweetly as she cosied up to him, trying to get as much warmth out of him as possible.

"There's one thing I don't get though Charlotte," Brandon said to the fire fairy.

"What's that then?"

"Well, when we approached the planet, I noticed there weren't any clouds."

"That's right. Beautiful huh?"

"Um, sure. So I guess that means there's no rain here?"

"That's right. In fact, I don't think it's ever rained here."

"And yet you're able to grow chillies and stuff."

"Yes."

"And you have these massive reservoirs which are normally full of water."

"Yes."

"So if there's no rain, and there's obviously no rivers or seas here neither... where does all the water come from?"

"Andros."

Jason's eyes lit up when she said that. "Andros? You mean Layla's homeworld?"

"That's right. It's a trade agreement we have with them - they give us water, and we give them heat for their spas and saunas and hot tubs and stuff... although quite how anyone could use water to relax in is totally beyond us. As far as we're concerned, water's only good for three things - drinking, washing and growing plants. But SWIMMING in it? Yuck!"

The look on Charlotte's face, which had been a slight look of bemusement as she pondered this wierd thought of people actually swimming for pleasure, soon gave way to a slightly startled look as the lift suddenly ground to a halt with a loud judder - they had arrived.

"Finally. Right guys, draw your weapons." said Sky, leading by example as he activated his phantoblade and shield. "There could be anything down here, so we gotta be ready." Charlotte followed suit, transforming into her fairy form.

The lift doors sighed open and the occupants stepped warily out into a long, winding corridor lit by banks of strip lights on each side. As they peered down the corridor, Timmy looked at his wrist-computer.

"Hey, do you guys feel that? The air's become more humid, and the temperature's just shot up ten degrees."

"Yes, I feel it alright. That's much better!" Charlotte said happily, taking her jacket off, folding it neatly and laying it on the floor. "Come on, let's go!"

And so they made their way down down the corridor, cautiously, slowly, taking extra care when they came to any corners just in case there were any nasties lurking about the place. All was silent except for their footsteps on the smooth stone floor and the soft steady fluorescent hum of the lights, a hum broken by the occasional - and annoying - flickering of the odd tube here and there that were in desperate need of replacing. All in all, everything seemed to be reasonably clean and in order, although they could've done without the eery silence. They tried their best, but they just couldn't get that tired old cliché out of their heads...

"It's quiet... too quiet."

Riven groaned. "Tsch! Yes Sky, trust you to come up with THAT corny line."

"Well, I'm just saying." the prince said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, this place looks totally deserted, like it hasn't been touched in..."

He stopped abruptly as they turned yet another corner to be met with a rather unpleasant sight. The walls and ceiling were covered with huge gouges and craters, and bore heavy scorch marks. A faint mist seemed to hang in the air, and the walls dripped with water. Most of the lights had been smashed, and those that still worked flickered on and off with a couple spitting out blue sparks from their exposed cables. But worst of all was what lay on the floor - skeletons. It was impossible to tell exactly how many just by looking - some of them were still more or less intact, some were scattered over a wide area... all of them were blackened and smouldering. A few scraps of clothing identified one of them as a reservoir worker.

Charlotte let out a little yelp and clung fiercely to Riven. The group continued down the corridor - yet more damage, yet more scorch marks, and sadly, yet more bodies. Finally, they reached a vast, open chamber. The lights here were still working, and they gasped at the sight before them. They were stood on a wide walkway skirting along the edge of a enormous stone bowl, so enormous they couldn't see the other side, partially due to its sheer size, and partially due to the veil of mist that hung above it. The bowl itself was almost empty with just a relatively shallow puddle at the very bottom, some fifty feet or so lower than them.

"Phew! Look at the size of this thing! It could probably supply an entire planet." Brandon remarked.

"Actually this is one of many." Charlotte explained, trying her best to put those horrifying sights firmly out of her mind. "Nahri chillies are thirsty little things... but that doesn't explain where all the water's gone though."

"Hey guys, look at that." said Sky, pointing at a large inlet pipe. "What's that inside it?"

"Inside it? What do you mean?" Brandon asked, before seeing for himself what the prince was referring to - a faint green glow could just be seen coming from within.

Timmy used his equipment to analyse it. "It appears to be some sort of portal."

Charlotte gasped. "That must what's blocking the water off - its being diverted elsewhere."

"But who would do such a thing?"

Brandon's question was immediately answered in dramatic fashion, as an orange flame suddenly erupted in mid-air barely ten yards in front of them. Instictively, they stepped back to a safe distance.

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Riven grumbled.

The group looked on as the flame slowly grew in size and brightness, shaking the ground as it did so. It began to take shape until finally, in a bright flash, all was revealed. There in front of them, engulfed in plumes of thick acrid smoke stood what they could only described as a gigantic, sinister shadow, no less than twenty feet in height, the darkest shade of green in colour with grey wisps wafting from every part of its lean, muscular body. It glared down at them with its pupil-less deep amber eyes, their faint glow being the only thing visible on its otherwise featureless face.

Charlotte screamed and jumped behind Riven, who stood his ground clutching his scimitar. She broke out into a cold sweat as she stared up at the creature looming menacingly above them, her breathing shallow and shaky. Even though this thing gave no visible sign of expression or emotion, she could see that it simply oozed evil... and that scared her something rotten.

The shadow tutted. "More stupid fleshlings... and ones with toys. As if those puny things could ever harm an Ifrit!" it said in an unnatural, deep voice.

Sky took a step forward and addressed the Ifrit. "You're the one responsible for all this, aren't you? Why are you doing this?"

The Ifrit looked at Sky, seemingly disgusted that such an insignificant being would have the sheer nerve to speak to it in such a manner.

"I want this planet. I want Nahri for myself, and to get it I need to get rid of the vermin on the surface." he eventually replied, putting an emphasis on 'vermin' just to prove how much he hated the people of this world.

"We can't let you get away with this, especially not after what you did to those innocent people. Restore the water supply and leave!"

The Ifrit laughed hard at this, so hard it felt as though the reservoir chamber could cave in at any moment. "Are you threatening me? You FOOLS!" it boomed, its clenched right fist suddenly bursting into a mass of flame. "Now you'll meet the same end as the others!" With that, it slammed its hand onto the ground and a huge pulse of fire suddenly flared up out of nowhere and bore down on the group at lightning speed. The Specialists let their training take over and they jumped aside to safety, but Charlotte... poor Charlotte was rooted to the spot, trembling in blind fear.

"Charlotte! Move it!"

But she couldn't.

She just stayed where she was, transfixed by the wall of fire as it raced towards her like a hungry predator racing hungrily to pounce on its helpless prey. She stood, terrified, paralysed, only able at the last minute to put her arms up in a futile effort to shield her face. Riven looked on helplessly, horrified by the sight of his girlfriend being quickly engulfed by the scorching inferno.

"Charlotte! NO!"


	18. Nahriina's Fury

**Thanks to: Meg (who is now officially an über-sweety for dedicating a chapter of her Winx Club Know Your Stars fic to me) and Kikurukina Bal Des'cagel, who it seems is something of a mind-reader.**

**Random Quote: "Please rush me my portable walrus polishing kit. Four super brushes that will clean even the trickiest of seabound mammals. Yes, I am over eighteen, though my IQ isn't."** (Rimmer, from Red Dwarf)

* * *

"I don't believe it!"

"Incredible!"

The Specialists looked on amazed. There before them stood Charlotte, her terracotta-coloured summer dress flapping wildly in the scorching hot wind that had been drawn in behind the flames as they rushed quickly past her, her arms still raised in front of her, her eyes screwed shut in terror as she waited for her impending firey death...

...and waited...

...and waited...

...and waited.

"That's odd. It doesn't hurt."

Warily she opened her eyes and inspected her hands and arms in disbelief. No burns, no blisters, no charring... not even the slightest reddening of her skin. She looked down at herself and patted her body, as though she wanted to check that she was still in one piece. She couldn't believe it - she was fine. Totally fine. Her dress was spotless, no scorch marks... nothing. Even her glasses were still in mint condition.

Riven raced over to her and put his arm around her. "Charlotte! We were so worried. Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, dazed and still slightly confused. "Yes, I'm... fine. In fact, that actually felt quite nice!"

The Ifrit growled in frustration when he saw this. "You're a Nahriina?!?"

"Nahriina?" Brandon asked Charlotte.

"A fire fairy from Nahri, I guess." she explained. "And it seems rather annoyed that I'm one of them."

"Perhaps 'Nahriinas' are immune from its fire attacks... and perhaps it already knew this." Timmy suggested. "If so, it would explain why it's trying to drive your people off this world by cooking up this rather elaborate plan from down here instead of just going up to the surface and attacking them head on."

Without warning, the Ifrit suddenly launched itself at Charlotte, swiping at her with his huge fist. Luckily for her, Riven was able to pull her out of the way just in time. "You may be immune from its fire attacks, but it'll still clobber you given half the chance. It could even be gunning for you now... well, it'll have to get though me first! Stand back and let us deal with this."

Charlotte did as he said, hid around a corner and looking on wracked with worry as the boys lined up in front of the Ifrit, brandishing their weapons as they fanned out to surround it.

"This is your last chance - restore the water supply and leave this place now!" Sky yelled bravely, waving his sword in its direction.

"You fleshlings certainly are amusing!" the Ifrit responded with a deep chuckle which seemed to egg the young prince on.

"Right, that's it. Specialists, attack!"

On his word, he, Brandon, Jason and Riven rushed at the Ifrit, their swords held high above their heads and ready to strike, but as their blades made contact with the vicious monster they were struck down by a fiercely crackling field of energy, as though they had been foolish enough to stick forks into an electrical socket. Timmy fired off a volley of laser fire into the beast, but it barely seemed to notice. Unfortunately for Timmy, the Ifrit did notice enough to strike Timmy with the same electrical discharge that had floored his comrades. The Ifrit looked over the fallenheroes, proudly surveying the damage it had caused with such minimal effort, until it came across Riven, barely able to move but still able to glare at him furiously.

"It seems the cowardly little Nahriina is rather fond of you - therefore you shall be the first to die."

Laughing, the Ifrit picked him up roughly across the throat with one hand and slammed him against a wall. It stared at Riven in amusement as he tried desperately to prise himself free from his overwhelmingly powerful grip, before raising his free hand up behind him and clenching it into a huge club of a fist, winding itself up ready to strike a kíller blow... but then something persuaded him not to... something that made him drop Riven and sent him staggering backwards.

The something just happened to be a fireball slamming hard into his chest, followed by another, then another. The Ifrit looked over to see Charlotte standing bravely in front of him, clutching her Flame Ribbon in both hands, her auburn hair let loose and gently flowing in the warm currents that swam around her body. She glared at him with a look of pure rage that would have sent a lesser being cowering in fright.

"NO! YOU... DON'T... TOUCH... HIM!" she yelled at the top of her voice, whipping at him with her ribbon in time with every word. The Ifrit yowled in pain and reeled back, clutching at his chest - each of Charlotte's strikes had left an ugly red weal that seemed to sizzle as he stared at it. The Ifrit tried to regroup under her assault, but the fire fairy didn't give him the chance. She bombarded him with more and more fireballs and strikes with her fire-whip before letting out a cry and wrapping her ribbon around his neck. He screamed a scream of agony as the flames seared him, a scream that was so terrifying, it seemed to be on loan from hell itself.

But Charlotte wasn't put off. For the first time, she was filled with an incredible sense of strength and anger, and she was determined to make the Ifrit pay for daring to harm her beloved Riven. She took off and positioned herself over the edge of the bowl before, with a flick of her wrist, she somehow managed to haul the Ifrit off its feet and over her shoulder, sending it hurtling into what remained of the reservoir before taking off and giving chase.

"Charlotte, wait!" Riven croaked as loud as he could, gingerly rubbing his painfully bruised throat.

"Come on, we gotta follow her! Take those steps." Jason yelled.

The Ifrit landed heavily with a huge splash at the water's edge. Shakily, he picked itself up, the water around his ankles bubbling and boiling furiously where they came into contact. Suddenly, he found itself under attack once more as a bombardment of fireballs came raining in from the fast-approaching fire fairy. The Ifrit stood its ground, letting of a few fireballs of his own knowing full well it would have no effect on her. Sure enough, she easily flew straight through them as if they weren't there, before stopping and hovering above the ground in front of him. She and the Ifrit remained where they were, glaring at each other in a silent stand-off.

As the boys raced over along the smooth concrete of the reservoir bowl, Sky caught a glimpse of them up ahead.

"There they are!" he yelled. "Come on!"

"That's odd." said Timmy, a puzzled frown appearing on his face.

"What is?"

"The Ifrit... why is he just standing there? He knows that Charlotte's fire attacks hurt him, and he knows that his own fire magic doesn't affect her. He knows he's vulnerable - so is he just going to stand there and let her attack him?"

Riven gasped as she quickly realised what was happening.

"It's a trap! He's lulling her into a false sense of security!"


	19. Servant of Shadow

**Thanks to: ZodiacDragonHatori (yes, Darkar is just plain 100 percent dodgy - spying on a schoolgirls' slumber party indeed - sheesh!) and MC Meg (in da house, big styleeeee!).**

**Random Quote: ****Needs must when the devil vomits into your kettle** (Blackadder)

* * *

"Charlotte - watch yourself! He's gonna try something!" 

But try as he might, she couldn't hear Riven's desperate pleas as she raised her hands above her, preparing to launch into her fearsome Fire Storm attack. The water around the Ifrit started to swirl and bubble as the air above it started to circle, faster and faster, hotter and hotter until finally it burst into a flaming twister that completely surrounded the creature. Huge clouds of steam suddenly spewed up into the air as the Fire Storm became more and more intense.

Charlotte smiled. She had the Ifrit trapped, and she was going to make him pay dearly for harming her darling Riven. Slowly, the Fire Storm started to tighten, growing narrower and narrower, closing in on its victim.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, something dark flashed in front of her. She gasped in fright - it was the Ifrit! She knew instantly what had happened - it had teleported itself from inside the storm. She had focused so much on retaliating that she had left herself wide open... and the Ifrit was now just a few yards in front of her, his left arm wound up before letting loose, hitting her hard in the face with a frightful backhand that sent her crashing hard into into the ground.

Riven was quick to be by her side, followed soon afterwards by the others. "Charlotte! Charlotte! Open your eyes!" he yelled. She did so slowly, groaning and wincing in pain as her left eye started to swell up. Meanwhile, the Ifrit landed once more, its sinister laugh echoing throughout the whole chamber. Timmy stared at its submerged feet.

"Look at the water!" he said, pointing at the boiling mass that surrounded its ankles. "That must be how it was getting rid of the water that was already in the reservoirs. That would explain all the mist."

"Ah, the poor little Nahriina." the Ifrit taunted. "She may be immune to my fire, but she's just as vulnerable to a smack in the face as anyone else!"

This was too much for Riven to bear - hurting his girlfriend was bad enough, but to hear this thing gloating about hitting her, and in such a cold manner too...

"You MONSTER!" he snarled as he stood up angrily and ran towards the Ifrit.

"Riven, wait!" Sky yelled. "We have to attack together!"

But it was no use. Riven was well on his way to attacking the creature, reluctantly joined by Sky, Brandon and Jason while Timmy stayed by Charlotte.

The Ifrit took an attacking stance, more than ready to squash the oncoming group of insects, but as it prepared to launch another wave of fire at them, it grunted and clutched at itself, cursing in frustration.

The Specialists stopped. "Huh? What's going on?" Brandon asked.

"I don't care! This is our chance!" Riven shouted as he resumed his charge. Meanwhile, a glint of deep red appeared in the Ifrit's chest, a bright shining light that quickly grew larger and brighter until it had completely enveloped him. The Ifrit yelled in anguish, trying hard to somehow fight it off.

Riven yelled as he leapt into the air, ready to bring his scimitar down straight between the Ifrit's wicked eyes, but at the very last second before he could strike, the light consuming the Ifrit suddenly collapsed in on itself, taking the monster with it. Riven's blade swept through thin air and he splashed down into the water. Angrily, he punched the surface of the shallow lake in frustration, disappointed that he wasn't the one to finish the job.

The group breathed a huge sigh of relief. Their job was done. They didn't quite know how and they just knew at the back of their minds that this wouldn't be the last they saw of it, but all that mattered that their job here was done. Charlotte smiled, rubbing the back of her head - she may have a bit of a headache right now, but at least her world was safe.

But then, something dawned on her.

"Um, guys? I think we should get out of here."

"Why?" Sky asked.

She pointed to the massive jets of water spewing from the inlet pipes dotted around the edge of the lake. "Well, the Ifrit's gone, and so are the barriers holding back our water... and I really don't feel like swimming today!"

* * *

Throughout the universe, there are many things that are considered ill omens - ravens leaving the Tower of London, red skies seen in the morning, spotting a lone magpie, breaking a mirror... but there are none more ominous than masses of unnaturally dark clouds swirling around a place already well known for its evil and general unpleasantness. 

But that was exactly what was happening around Shadowhaunt. The already dark skies had gotten noticeably darker, as though the sun had given up all hope of there ever being any warmth or brightness in that part of the world. A distinct chill cut through the dank cold air like a frozen knife - so intense was the chill, it would make a penguin think twice before venturing outdoors without a wooly hat. Whatever wildlife had been brave - or foolish - enough to make a home on the jagged slopes around Shadowhaunt had long since deserted the area in droves.

Deep within his underground fortress, Lord Darkar looked on from his rocky throne, slightly amused at the sight of Stormy pacing up and down in front of him and her two sisters.

"Argh! How much longer do we have to stand around here waiting?" the young witch protested.

"Patience my dear Stormy, patience."

"She does have a point LD," Darcy cut in. "We have all this power now, so why don't we go down to Alfea and squash those pixies once and for all?"

Darkar laughed. "Oh, I get the feeling your precious pixies will come here to play soon enough. First though, there's something I've always wanted to try... but until now, no matter how strong I was before, I've never had enough power to try it."

"Hmph! And what might that be?" Icy snorted.

"This!" he shouted, raising up both his hands. Almost immediately, a slow rumbling began to fill the room and a current of hot air began to circulate around them, making the shreds of Darkar's cloak flap around him like frail threads of gossamer caught in a breeze. A point of red light suddenly appeared in front of Darkar, which slowly grew larger and larger until it was more than twice the dark lord's size. The light began to warp and fluctuate, and a faint angry wailing could be heard until finally the light faded, leaving a large figure crouched in the centre of the chamber, clutching itself...

It was the Ifrit.

Slowly, it realised that its pain had subsided and its surroundings had changed. He stood up, drawing himself up to his impressive full height, and towered over Darkar, glaring at him.

"Why have you brought me here? Answer me!" he demanded angrily.

"Heh, I like this guy's style already!" Icy smirked. Darkar chose to ignore her remark, and stared intently back at the Ifrit.

"I brought you here to serve me."

The Ifrit's eyes flashed with rage. "Serve you? SERVE YOU!?! I was on the verge of victory and you ruined my plans to have Nahri for myself, and now you have the nerve to say that I am to serve you?! AN IFRIT SERVES NO-ONE!" he bellowed as he lunged forward to strike Darkar. Darkar coolly raised his hand and, from out of nowhere, a collar the colour of tarnished gold appeared around the Ifrit's neck. He struggled briefly for a second as it tried to rip it away before momentarily freezing as the collar took full effect. Eventually, the Ifrit dropped to one knee and bowed humbly before Darkar.

"How may I serve you master?"

"That's better," Darkar muttered as he turned towards a wall. On it, a projection of a young red-haired girl appeared.

"Her name is Will Vandom. She holds a gem known as the Heart of Kandrakar, which I want - bring her to me. You may cause as much mayhem and destruction as you like, but that girl must be brought to me ALIVE. Do I make myself clear?"

The Ifrit nodded its head. "Yes, master."


	20. The Shopping Trip From Hell

**Thanks to: Meg (the only one to review the last chapter - sigh) and godawful . net (for showing the world how NOT to write fanfics)**

**Random Quote: Dust is actually very low in fat... so you can eat as much dust as you like!** (Marjorie Dawes, from Little Britain)

* * *

The WITCH girls, and in particular Cornelia, certainly seemed to be having the time of their lives as they were guided by the Winx Club girls on their own grand tour of Aquisates, the premier destination of choice for any of Majix's dedicated followers of fashion. Of course, it wasn't the stunning architecture that wowed them, even though it was pretty special - the cool crisp modern lines of the large glass-fronted department stores and malls complimented by the rugged, Gaudi-esque, almost organic stone arches of the galleries and arcades which criss-crossed in between them. (1) 

No, like any budding professional shopper, it was the sheer number and variety of bazaars and boutiques that fascinated them. Clothes from all over the galaxy could be found here, presented to the public like works of art just begging to be bought. And there was certainly plenty of that being done. The five young Earth girls were fully loaded with shopping bags, with pride of place being taken by the stunning top-of-the-range ballgowns chosen personally by Stella.

"I tell you, when it comes to your next school prom, you girls are gonna blow everyone away!"

"This is so cool of you Stella. Are you sure you don't mind paying for all this?" Cornelia asked.

"Of course not, silly! I told you - Daddy gave me this credit card for the new school year, and it would be a crime against shopping not to use it!"

Irma grinned as she opened one of her bags and peered at her own ballgown - a lacy azure-blue number specially chosen by Stella - she insisted that Irma simply had to have it because it complimented her eyes perfectly.

"I can't wait to show this thing off." she said to Musa. "It's a shame Teggy and the others couldn't join us."

"I know. It sucks big time that the Sophomores are starting classes a day earlier than us."

"And how about Mirta?"

"Mirta said she was hanging with Lucy up at CT." Musa sighed before bursting into a little chuckle. "Hey Stella - remember when you and Discorda dragged Teggy out here on a shopping trip?"

"Oh, don't remind me." she replied, rolling her eyes back. "He kicked up such a fuss - it was like shopping with a little kid. And no offence Musa sweety, but that guy has THE dullest dress sense in the entire realm! If he had his way, he'd have bought the most boring outfit in the city!"

Irma giggled when she heard this. "Teggy, boring? No way!"

Stella laughed. "He actually looked quite stylish by the time we'd finished with him. He definitely needs to hang out with Discorda more often - his dress sense would REALLY get livened up!"

The gang laughed cheerily as they walked on through the crowded streets when, as they walked past one lone young man, something about him caught Taranee's attention...

"Hey, did you guys see that?"

"See what?" Bloom asked.

"That guy we just walked past - he had the strangest orange eyes, and I swear he was checking Will out."

"Ooh, Will has an admirer!" Hay Lin said teasingly, knudging her. "Was he cute? Which way did he go?"

Taranee pointed behind them as she turned around.

"Why, he was just over..."

Her answer was suddenly cut short at the frightening figure that stood before her. "Err, g-guys..." was the best warning she was able to stammer before she was drowned out by thescared screams of shoppers running for their lives in their dozens. The other girls soon twigged that something was up and turned around to see what all the fuss was about, and they were startled by what they saw - it was the Ifrit towering menacingly over them, his gaze fixed on one girl in particular.

"Will Vandom. You will come with me now." he said as he jabbed a finger at the young redhead.

"Yow! What IS that thing?" said Musa.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure - it's not here shopping for shoes!" Stella replied.

"And here's another thing for sure - I sure as hell ain't going on a date with it!" Will yelled. "Guardians unite!"

The Ifrit laughed as the newly-transformed Winx and WITCH girls confronted him. "How amusing. It's not as if you have a choice - you ARE coming with me, whether you like it or not!"

Irma sniggered. "Will you get a load of this guy? Does he really think we're gonna let him take Will just cos he said so?"

"Yeah, and besides it's eleven against one," Stella chipped in. "I don't fancy this guy's chances one bit. In fact I almost feel sorry for him!"

"Really?" the Ifrit sneered, glimpsing behind the girls towards a corner shop where a number of frightened passers-by had taken cover. "Perhaps you should be feeling sorry for THEM instead!" His hand erupted into flame as he raised it in front of him before slamming it into the ground and sending a huge firey wave careering into the shop with a loud crash and a tinkling of broken glass.

The girls looked on in horror at the sight of those helpless innocents trapped by the fire as it spread easily through the many clothes on sale, a horror that was heightened by creaking sound made by the shop itself - its walls had decided they had had enough of being walls and would look far smarter as a pile of rubble instead.

"That shop's about to cave in! We gotta do something!" Layla yelled.

"I'm onto it!" Cornelia replied as she placed her own hand onto the floor. Almost instantly, thick fingers of rock rose from the ground to prop up the damaged structure.

"And I'll take care of the fire." Bloom said as she ran into the shop. Closing her eyes, she slowly gathered the flames up into her outstretched hand and, with a sigh of relief, snuffed them out in a ball of smoke.

As he watched the girls rushing to help the people out of the shop, the Ifrit felt very satisfied - his ploy to momentarily distract them had worked, and all that remained on his to-do list was to grab Will, who rather conveniently was stood with her back turned to him. Sensing that the danger wasn't over yet, Will turned to face the Ifrit once more... but she did so too late - the Ifrit took her roughly with his humungous hand and picked her up with no effort at all. Will struggled and strained to get free, but her arms were pinned to her sides by his vice-like grip.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, drawing the other girls' attention to them.

"You heard what she said - let go!" Taranee yelled at the Ifrit, letting off a fireball directly into his face, but to no effect - it just puffed off him with about as much force as a ball of cotton-candy. The other girls all attacked at once, but with the same effect - none whatsoever.

"Impossible!" Bloom said as she powered herself up and letting off a full-strength shot into the Ifrit's stomach only to see it go the same way as the other attacks. "Our magic isn't hurting it one bit!"

Desperately, Will tried firing her way free with a bolt of her own. Okay, so the others are having no luck with their direct assaults - it was like firing tiny fireworks at a hugemountainside... but what happens when you're holding that tiny firework in your hand as it goes off? Even the smallest rocket could do tremendous damage. Well, that was the theory anyway... but unfortunately Will's desperation move to turn herself into a handheld banger had about as much effect on the Ifrit as an unlit sparkler.

The girls looked on helplessly as the Ifrit lifted her up so that she was at face-level, and stared into her terrified hazel eyes.

"And now to take the Heart of Kandrakar back to my master!"

Will gasped. So that's what all this is about!

"You know what?" she said defiantly. "You're NOT getting the Heart, and neither is this master of yours." Instinctively, she withdrew the Heart back into herself, causing her and the other four WITCH girls to revert back to their girl forms. "You've lost. You'll never get the Heart, so you may as well let me go!"

The Ifrit chuckled and shook his head disdainfully... and then in a bright flash he was gone, taking Will with him.

"No!" Taranee screamed as they vanished in front of them, reaching out into thin air in a vain effort to grab Will back before slumping to the ground in tears. "I don't believe this. We've only just found her, and now she's been taken away again!"

"It's okay, we'll find her." Bloom said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But how? Where do we go? Do you even know who took her?"

"I don't know for sure, but I've got a pretty good idea who's behind this. But first we oughtta head back to Alfea - we're gonna need all the help we can get..."

* * *

**1. Antoni Gaudi - **a Spanish architect with a very unique style who designed some of the most distinctive buildings in Barcelona. Go to Google and search for 'gaudi wiki' (without the quotes), and look in particular at his Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Parc Guell projects. 


	21. Dancing To A Different Tune

**Thanks to: Meg (who's currently churning out chapters of her newest fanfic like there's no tomorrow), Spongey (Knights of Cydonia rules!) and Sokai (you're more than welcome buddess).**

**No Thanks To: Toon Disney (for annoying Meg so much) and BBC (who decided to show the final of the Australian Open instead of last weekend's episode of WITCH - the second to last episode in Season One too!)**

**A Big Middle Finger to: Andy D'Urso, the inept / biased referee who cost my beloved Bristol Rovers victory in their FA Cup match at Derby last Saturday.**

**Random Quote: That's it! Who put the bunny in the toilet? This is not funny! Who thinks this is funny? Well whoever is doing this, if you think you can break me that easily, you are wrong. You can take my bunny, but you can't take my spirit!** (Ugly Betty)

* * *

Hearts were heavy and heads were hung low as the girls trudged up the stairs into the Teachers Quarters, particularly Taranee - after all, she had seen her best friend snatched away twice in as many days now, and this time it was made a lot worse by one single aspect - it was a sure thing that Will was in very real danger, and that thought just stuck in Taranee's mind like a spiteful little bee-sting. She felt that right now nothing could cheer her up... not even the soft, cheerful flowing music that gently wafted its way down the corridor as they approached Tegryn's room, accommpanied by some happy singing. 

_Laa laa laa laa laaaa... LA LA! LA LA! Laa laa laa laa laaaa... LA LA! LA LA!_

"Hmmm? Sounds like a waltz... the 'Blue Danube', I think." said Bloom.

"And it's coming from Teggy's pad - I guess lessons are over!"

Sure enough, when Musa opened the door to his room, she (and everyone else) was treated to quite a peculiar sight, for there was Tegryn dressed in a smart light grey suit, twirling in time to the music in the centre of the room with Tune, who laid a forearm on one of his outstretched palms and held the index finger of his other hand with her leading hand. Sat on his bed were Mirta, Anyuna, Mimi and Nini, laughing their heads off whilst singing (or attempting to sing) their own jolly musical accompaniment. Musa couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw this.

"Are you two waltzing?" she said, trying her best not to snigger too loudly.

"Yes. It's a VIENNESE Waltz, to be precise!" Tune replied.

"Yeah Musie, it's a VIENNESE Waltz - can't you tell the difference? Sheesh!" Tegryn added jokingly. "I gotta say though, Tune makes a fine dance partner. Sure, the size difference makes things a bit awkward, but at least I don't have to worry about treading on her toes!" He then bowed politely to his dance partner before going over the greet his little darling.

Mirta and the Starz-sans-Charlotte smiled at this, but their smiles soon dropped when they noticed the glum expressions on the faces of their visitors, especially Taranee, who stared down at the floor with big, doleful eyes, her cheeks still streaked with telltale patches of wetness.

"Taranee? What happened?" Tegryn asked.

"Oh Teggy, it was terrible. Will's been kidnapped." she sighed.

"Kidnapped? Oh man." Mimi said, putting a comforting arm around the Fire Guardian. "Well don't you worry 'Ranee."

"Yeah, we'll get her back, no probs! You come and chill with us buddess, while we figure this thing out." Nini added as she followed her sister's lead, putting her own arm around Taranee as they sat down together.

"So who took her then?" Tegryn asked.

"We don't know, but it was big... and I mean BIG. It was like nothing we've ever seen before." said Tecna. "And to make matters worse, it was completely impervious to all of our attacks. We were all totally powerless to stop it."

"Whatever it was, it said it's master was after the Heart of Kandrakar... and that means Will's in danger. We gotta do something." Taranee said, her fearful tone adding an edge to her normally soft voice.

"Any clues on where it may have taken her?"

"Actually Teggy, we were hoping Mirta could help us with that." Bloom replied, much to the young witch's surprise.

"Me? I don't understand..." Mirta started before realising just what Bloom was referring to. "Ah yes, I see what you mean. One Eavesdropping Spell coming up!"

She stood up and turned her back on the others before raising her hands slightly and beginning the short incantation.

_Search high and low  
Every cranny and nook  
Find who took Will  
And let us look!_

At Mirta's command, a small swirling white mass quickly appeared in front of the group and an image started to come into focus. There in the middle of the picture was Will, struggling to get free of some unseen force that held her fast against a stoney wall. In front of her stood the Ifrit along with three unmistakable, and unwanted, forms.

"Icy, Darcy and Stormy," Bloom muttered. "I should've known they'd have something to do with this."

"Darcy? Ooh, so THAT'S the one who gave Teggy his powers." Irma said. "I'm so glad my Big Irm didn't turn out like her!"

"You're telling me L'il Teg - I mean, can you imagine me wearing that eyeshadow?" Tegryn replied.

"That's pretty frightening... but not as frightening as THAT!" said Musa, taking a closer look as another figure strode into view. "Is that Darkar?"

"Who's Darkar?" Cornelia asked. "No, wait, don't tell me - he's yet another 'conquer-everything-in-sight bad guy', right?"

"Right. And I tell you now, I'm NOT digging his new look one bit."

"I'm with you there, Musa." Stella tutted. "Just look at him. I mean, HORNS? That is so medieval!"

"Shhh!" said Bloom, "Let's hear what they're saying..."

* * *

"What... have you done to me?" said Will, shaking her head in a vain effort to wriggle free from the unseen force that held her. 

"Just a paralysis spell." Darkar replied coldly. "I thought it would be more... humane... than just chaining you up."

"Humane?" Icy snorted in disbelief. "Since when do you do humane?"

Darkar laughed. "When you have enough power to rip a realm in half, it tends to put you in a good mood. You should try it some time. Now then little girl - where's the Heart of Kandrakar?"

"She withdrew it into herself." the Ifrit spoke in his intimidatingly deep voice. (1)

"Idiot!" Stormy muttered. "Why didn't you just grab it and bring it here when you had the chance?"

The Ifrit looked down at the weather witch in contempt. "My orders were to bring the girl here."

"Yes, and a most entertaining job you did too. You certainly left your mark on that shopping mall!" Darkar complimented him before turning his attentions back to his prisoner. "Now then Miss Vandom - hand over the Heart."

"Never!"

"Yes, I thought you'd say that. So you withdrew it into your body, eh? In that case, I'll just have to rip it out of you!" the dark one yelled as he suddenly lunged at Will with an outstretched hand... but as he did so, he had a unscheduled change of plan - an intense field of energy suddenly erupted around Will, powerful enough to send Darkar and the others flying backwards - even the gigantic Ifrit was forced to take a few steps back. Furiously, Darkar stood up and glared at Will.

"Why you impudent little..." he snarled before stopping in mid-sentence as he realised what had just happened. "That wasn't YOU who did that, now was it? It was the Heart - it was protecting you."

"You just don't understand, do you? I couldn't give the Heart away even if I wanted to. The Heart has chosen me as its master, and it will do everything to make sure it stays that way." Will nervously explained.

"Really?" Darkar said thoughtfully as he pondered his next move. "I suppose you think I should just give up and left you go, huh?"

"Well, that IS an idea..."

"Yes... unfortunately for you, that idea's just not on the cards right now." he said as he raised his hand. From out of nowhere, Will was once more surrounded by the Heart's protective field as it fought to keep a wispy green shroud of energy at bay. "You can defy me all you want, but sooner or later your defences will be worn down, and when it does, you will be my willing slave. And when that happens, you will lead our conquest of Kandrakar yourself!"

The halls of Shadowhaunt were soon filled with his demonic laughter, which echoed through every corridor, invaded every crevice... then stopped abruptly as Darkar looked over his shoulder with a smile.

"Ah... I do hope your little friends managed to catch all of that. If they want you back, they'll have to come here and get you! Of course, that's why I insisted on this girl being brought over here - so you three could have some fun with your favourite fairies." he said, glancing over towards the Trix. "And just to make things a bit more interesting, I'll fix it to make sure they take the scenic route to Shadowhaunt!"

* * *

Without warning, the floating images conjured up by Mirta exploded in her face in a shower of sparks, making her jump back in fright. 

"That's impossible!" she gasped, "He knew we were watching him!"

"And what you suppose he meant by _'when you have enough power to rip a realm in half'_?" Tegryn asked. "Man, I hope that's nothing to do with his new look."

"Me too. Well, at least we know for sure where Will is now. We'd better get going." said Anyuna.

"Right. Just let me get changed first." Tegryn replied as he carefully took his jacket off to reveal a plain white T-shirt underneath.

"Whoa there boy!" Musa shouted frantically, just as Tegryn went to unbuckle his belt. "Babe, much as I'd love to see you without your pants for the first time, this really ain't the time or place for that right now!"

Tegryn sighed, thankful that Musa had stopped him - in his eagerness to rescue to get out there and their friend, he had come frighteningly close to showing off more than he'd wanted, especially to Irma and what remained of the Heatherfield Five - and he was self-conscious enough as it was. "You're right Musie, the Teggy show will have to wait. Let's go get Will!"

With typically minimal effort he conjured up a portal to Shadowhaunt - he was rather proud of his portalling skills as it was virtually the only magic he had true control over, and it more than made up for his lousy sense of direction. In this case however, things weren't going to go according to plan for no sooner had the portal opened, a massive blast shot out from it, striking Tegryn full-on and, to Musa's horror, sending him straight through his own front door with a loud crash and a shower of wooden splinters.

"TEGGY! Teggy, are you okay?"

As a panic-stricken Musa rushed over to where he lay, Tegryn slowly picked himself up from the corridor floor, muttering angrily to himself as he rubbed the back of his already-sore head.

"Oh man, I'm getting sick to death of this bloody floor. Surely a bit of padding wouldn't go amiss."

"Hmmm - this is interesting," Tecna murmured as she sat on the bed and watched her wrist-comp churn out a ton of data. "I'm detecting some sort of energy field enclosing the area around Alfea... some sort of portal-blocker, and it's emanating from Shadowhaunt."

"A portal-blocker?" Tegryn tutted. "Looks like tall, dark and ugly's gonna be right about us taking the scenic route after all."

"So how are we gonna get there?" Musa asked. "I'm guessing there aren't many buses going near Gloom Central."

"Yeah, and not all of us can fly neither." said Cornelia, obviously frustrated at not being able to transform.

"Oh yes we can!" Tecna replied as she tapped a few buttons. "Luckily for us, Timmy's given me the keys to his new speeder, so to speak!"

"Timmy's bought a new speeder? I never knew he was THAT rich." Stella remarked.

"No no - this was something of a summer project of his. He designed it himself, and virtually built it all too." Tecna looked out of the window into the sky, where a small glinting speck could barely be seen. "Good, it's on its way. Come on!" she said as she started to walk out to the courtyard. The others followed, with Tegryn bringing up the rear after trying desperately to clear away some of his room's ex-door. They had only gone a few yards when he clopped himself on the forehead.

"Oh hang on, I've forgotten something. Carry on without me, I'll be back in a mo!" he shouted as he raced back into his room, hastily opened the bottom drawer of his dresser and grabbed something from inside it. Just as he was about to run out and rejoin the others, he stopped. Trembling, he slowly opened his hand and peered at what he was holding... and as he did so, a torrent of bad memories came flooding into his mind. He shuddered as he closed his hand and screwed his eyes shut for a few seconds.

"I don't care how powerful Darkar may be... I hope I NEVER have to use this."

* * *

**1. Just a little footnote to explain - in the comic book, the Heart merges with the keeper's body when not in use.**


	22. Crash & Burn

**Thanks to: Meg (cold enough for ya?) and Julia (AKA Princess of Angels, a fellow muslima AND a Taurus!)**

**Random Quote: Oh little brother please refrain from doing that, I'm trying to help you out, so can you stop being a twat. **('Alife' by Lily Allen)

* * *

**WARNING:  
THIS EPISODE CONTAINS ONE OF THE WORST JOKES  
EVER TO FIND ITS WAY ONTO THIS SITE, IF NOT THE WORST.  
IF YOU ARE READING THIS IN A PUBLIC PLACE,  
PLEASE RESIST THE URGE TO GROAN OUT LOUD OR BANG YOUR HEAD ON THE TABLE  
AS THIS WILL ONLY CAUSE YOU EMBARASSMENT.  
THANK YOU :)**

* * *

"And... there! A perfect landing!" 

Tecna looked on with satisfaction as she remote-guided the ship into a feather-light landing, whilst the others looked on with some degree of fascination. This ship was noticably different from the usual Red Fountain craft - it was sleeker than the standard design, with two large wing-mounted engines which swivelled to give a major manoeuvrability boost. But it wasn't these technical details that caught everyone's eye...

"Wow! Sweet!" Hay Lin blurted out wide-eyed in excitement. "Are we really gonna fly in that thing?"

"Uh-huh. Beautiful, isn't it?" Tecna replied.

"Yes, and it's a nice colour too... nice and lavender," Stella added. "It makes a change from the boring Red Fountain red."

"Heh. I wonder who Timmy was thinking of when he did that!" Tegryn said, nudging Tecna playfully as he did so. Tecna giggled coyly, fully aware of the fact that her cheeks were rapidly turning the same colour as her magenta hair.

Musa scolded her sweetheart with a chuckle. "Oh Teggy, stop it! You're making her blush!"

Laughing, the group clambered on board as the twin engines whinnied back into life under Tecna's command, but just as Tegryn set foot onto the gangway, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around to see Polli staring up at him with big, baleful, tear-filled eyes - a truly heart-melting sight at any time.

"Aww Polli, what's the matter? I won't be gone long."

Polli fluttered up and whispered in his ear.

"You're not the only one who's worried. But don't you worry, okay? We'll all be back, safe and sound, by the end of the day - I just know it."

Polli shook her head and let out a slow, sad "Eeep". Tegryn closed his eyes and smiled as he gently held her to his chest and stroked her head slowly.

"There's just no lying to you, is there babe?" he whispered. "I might not be able to promise that we'll all come home safe, but I can promise we'll all look out for each other and get Will out of there, and we'll do our best to come back in one piece. Is that alright?"

Polli smiled as hard as she could, as if to say "Well, I suppose that'll do", before giving Tegryn one of her little pixie kisses on the end of his nose, a kiss that he was only to happy to return before climbing on board to join the others. He turned around and gave her a little wave goodbye as the door closed shut behind him.

"Man, that was like the sweetest thing ever." said Musa as she snuggled up to her main man to try and comfort him.

"I can't believe how close you and Polli are," Irma added as she gently hooked a hand around his arm. "The guys were telling us about the bonds fairies have with pixies at the sleepover, but your bond must be the strongest of the lot... and you ain't even a fairy!"

"Yeah," Tegryn laughed. "She's my little hero alright! If it weren't for her, me and Musa might not still be together. Ah well - we're about to take off, so I s'pose we'd better find our seats... ah!" He stopped abruptly as they entered the main cabin. "So... standing room only?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about this," Tecna apologised. "This ship's just a two-seater. I guess Timmy intended this for just him and... ahem... anyway, um.. shall we get going?" she stammered, her face quickly turning bright pink again.

"We need to sort out who gets the second seat first!" Stella protested. "Obviously Tecna gets the pilot's chair, and, seeing as I'm a princess..."

"No way! Our bud Ranee gets the seat!" Mimi said cheekily as she and her sister quickly ushered a slightly bemused Taranee into the empty chair at the front of the small cabin.

"Yep! Ranee calls shotgun!" Nini added. "You comfy there gal?"

Taranee shifted uneasily. "I guess, but, well, you see... I mean, this is my first time in a spaceship. Are you sure...?"

"Hey, it's cool. Tecna can fly this thing with her eyes closed!" Mimi answered.

"Yeah, she's a Zenith fairy, and Zenith fairies and techno-stuff are tight like this," said Nini, crossing two fingers together in front of her to show just how close Tecna and the ship were connected.

"Yes, but... I'm kinda... afraid."

"Don't worry Taranee, you won't feel a thing." Tecna said reassuringly. "In fact, we took off half a minute ago!"

"What!?" Taranee gasped in disbelief as she peered out of the window. Sure enough, the forest surrounding Alfea was whizzing quickly underneath them as they sped towards their destination. "Wow! That was smooth."

"Told ya she was good!" Nini grinned.

"Yeah, now let's just kick back and enjoy the ride." said Mimi.

However, Mimi's plans for a little chill-out session were rudely interrupted by a intermittent buzzer which had suddenly blared out from the ship's control panel.

"What is it Tec?" Bloom asked.

"I don't know... something's coming in fast at twelve o'clock."

Tegryn chuckled childishly as he looked at his wristwatch. "Oh that's okay - that gives us half an hour!"

A huge groan rang through the cabin.

"Oh man! Teggy, that was awful!" Musa complained as she held her head in her hand.

"Yeah, not to mention old - I heard that one in kindergarten!" Cornelia added. "In fact, it's so old Tutenkhamun has a copyright on it!"

"Ahem! I hate to break up this 'comedy' hour, but we have a visual." Tecna said as she punched some commands into the control panel, bringing up a picture of a large dark figure speeded towards them.

"Ack! It's that thing!" cried Irma. "The one that took Will!"

"And it's coming straight for us! Hold tight!"

A dark flash suddenly appeared, hurtling past the side of the ship and shaking it violently as it struck. A urgent klaxon immediately sounded, accompanied by a loud creaking sound followed by a large bang that rattled everyone on board.

"We've lost our starboard engine!" Tecna yelled as she fought to regain control of the ship.

"Is there any way you can get it back on-line?" asked Bloom.

Tecna shook her head. "No. We've LOST our starboard engine... literally. It's about a mile behind us now."

Just as she thought things couldn't get any worse, they got worse as the control panel's buzzer sounded again in time with a small flashing dot that reappeared on the scanner.

"It's coming in from behind us. I get the nasty feeling it's targetting our other engine. Brace yourselves, this is gonna get bumpy!"

Tecna's prediction came sadly true as the ship was rocked by another huge blow, their worst fears confirmed by the sight of their port engine plummeting in flames into the dense forest below. Slowly, the ship's nose began to dip as it started on its own death-dive.

"We've got to level out!" Tecna said as she jabbed frantically at the buttons. Eventually, the ship's front manoeuvring thruster burst into life. "This isn't enough!" she moaned as the ship's angle continued to steepen.

"Maybe I can help!" Cornelia said, closing her eyes and focusing her mind. Her face started to strain as she concentrated her efforts.

"Of course! Telekinesis!" Tegryn exclaimed as he took Cornelia's hand. "If we can just combine our powers..."

Tegryn gritted his teeth as he and Cornelia poured every ounce of power into their task. Almost instantly, the stricken ship started to level out, much to relief of everyone on board.

"Okay Corny, can you hold this thing level on your own?" he asked her.

"Yes, just about. Why?"

"We still to land in one piece."

"But how? It's all forest out there! We'll get smashed to pieces!" Bloom cried.

"Not if you're helping me. You know the Griselda Bubble, don't you?"

"Yes, but you don't know it... do you?"

"Yep. I get the feeling those extra classes I took with Grizzly last year are gonna prove really useful right now... but it's gonna have to be a double effort. You ready?"

"Ready!" Bloom held out her hands, closely followed by Tegryn. With a similtaneous cry of "Griselda Bubble!", the inside of the ship was filled with a shimmering orange field... and not a moment too soon, for at that very moment the ship started ploughing its way through the trees, the loud scrapes and scratches almost sounding like cries of pain as it ripped its way through the foliage at lightning speed. For what seemed like an eternity, the ship smashed through the thick trunks of the forest residents as though they were nothing more than matchsticks.

"Argh! I can't... hold this much longer!" Bloom grunted under the immense strain as the ship was buffeted on all sides, crashing and screeching as it torn apart.

Eventually they touched down, plunging hard and ploughing a gigantic furrow into the soft ground as it went while the passengers huddled together, some of them screaming, all them them scared out of their skins as their ride got ripped to shreds around them.

And then... silence.

Thank goodness. They had stopped.

What was left of the ship's skeleton lay twisted and smouldering, with the terrified girls huddled inside around Bloom and Tegryn, who released their grip on the bubble that had kept them alive. The pair slumped to their knees, exhausted for their efforts but glad that their plan had worked insofar that they were all more or less in one piece. Tegryn hugged Musa tightly as they helped each other up, while Bloom looked around - they had landed in a clearing, circled on three sides by a line of high cliffs. She noticed Hay Lin laid flat out on the floor, blinking her eyes blearily.

"Hay Lin? Are you okay?" she said softly as she rushed over.

"Oh man," Hay Lin gasped breathlessly as she looked up at Bloom. "Remind me not to fly with that airline again. The food was lousy and the ride was terrible!"

But then she gasped once more, and her eyes opened wide in fright. As she was talking to Bloom, she had noticed something in the sky behind her - it was bright, and distant... and getting closer a little too quickly for her liking.

"INCOMING!" she yelled, pointing upwards.

Everyone looked up, and saw instantly what had got her in such a flap - an immense ball of fire with what seemed to be a small dark spot in the centre was hurtling down towards them at breakneck speed. Panic-stricken, they fled as quickly as they could as the fireball hammered into the ground with earth-shattering force, the resultant blast scattering the group over a wide area and throwing up a choking cloud of dust up into the air.

Tegryn groaned and cursed under his breath, coughing slightly as he drew in a lungful of the thick haze. He didn't know what annoyed him more - the fact that this 'thing' had put all of his friends in very real danger, or the fact that it had caused him to bang his already tender head hard on the ground for the second time in fifteen minutes. At least Musa was safe - he was still clutching her tight to his chest, and he could see she was fully awake. Next to them, Irma was sprawled out across his legs. She groaned as she slowly picked herself up, shaking her head.

All around him, he could make out the shapes of his friends, some standing, some sitting, some walking around asking after each other... however, it was something else that caught his eye, and it was none too pleasant. As he strained his eyes, he could just make out the faint form of a large figure emerging in the centre of the dirty mist, accompanied by a low, sinister laughter that chilled all to the bone.

"Heh heh heh heh... so many targets to choose from..."


	23. Between a Rock and a Hot Place

**Thanks to: Meg (don't worry, Timmy gave Tecna the 'keys' to the ship, so it's all good... well, apart from it getting wrecked, that is), and the BBC for starting season two of WITCH straight after they'd finished season one.**

**Random Quote: Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be bagels. **(my boss's son's joke du jour - just to continue the awful joke thing going)

* * *

"Oh man - I think we're in trouble now." 

Tegryn scrambled to his feet as the gang confronted the Ifrit, who stood ominously calm in the centre of their circle. The Ifrit had no need to panic - he could sense their fear a mile off, and that gave him a malicious sense of glee.

"What's the matter girls - scared? Don't worry. If you're really that frightened, I'll make sure your deaths are as quick as possible."

"Who's he calling a girl?" Tegryn muttered angrily under his breath as he felt the fury towards this thing building up inside him - kidnapping Will, putting him and his friends in danger, and this petty, albeit unintended insult... to say he was annoyed with this thing would be a major understatement.

"Right! Time to see what this creep's made of! RAGE BLAST!" he shouted as he adopted an attacking stance and let rip with his trademark strike. He looked on as the intense white beam of energy hurtled towards its target, the long grass of the clearing rustling wildly in its wake until finally it struck the Ifrit square in the back... and fizzled out into nothing.

Tegryn gasped, half in shock and half in disappointment. He put a whole load of effort into that shot, so how could his Rage Blast be so ineffective?

"It's just like I told you Teggy," Tecna said gravely. "It's completely impervious to our attacks."

"The pink-haired one is right," the Ifrit gloated as he turned to face his attacker. "Nothing can hurt me!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Tegryn smirked. "You look pretty hurt from where I'm standing."

"What? Teggy, what are you talking about?" Tecna gasped.

"Check out the scars on his chest. Someone's hurt him alright - and quite recently too!"

The Ifrit growled, visibly angered by the reminder of his encounter with Charlotte. "Yes, someone was indeed able to hurt me," he replied slowly, his fist bursting into flame as he prepared to launch into his Fire Wave attack, "But you won't be alive long enough to find out who!"

With that he slammed his hand down, and the ground in front of him burst into a massive wall of flame that rushed towards its victim. Tegryn looked on in horror at the huge fire speeding straight at him.

"Teggy! MOVE!"

But he couldn't move. He could only stand bolt upright, paralysed with fear, his eyes fixed on the approaching fire. This was one of the things he feared most in the world. In fact, being roasted to a crisp was his worst fear come true, and nothing or no-one could save him from it...

Thankfully, he was wrong.

Just when he thought it was too late, Taranee leapt in front of him and, with a scooping motion of her hands, forced the flames to jump over their heads and dissipate harmlessly into the air. Breathing slightly heavily, she turned and looked at Tegryn, who was still standing rooted to the spot, his eyes wide open in terror, his skin looking decidedly pale.

"Teggy, you could've been kîlled - why didn't you move?" the baffled Fire Guardian asked.

"I... I'm sorry. I just... I... kinda... spaced out, I guess." he stammered.

"Wow, Charlotte was right - you really are afraid of fire aren't you?" Irma said sympathetically as she and Musa rushed up to his side.

"C'mon babe," Musa said as she ushered her shaken fiancé away. "Hang back for a bit. We'll find a way of putting this jerk away."

"We can't attack him head on." Tegryn said quietly. "We gotta find another way... something different."

That 'something different' came quicker than he expected as, just as the Ifrit prepared himself for another strike, a thick forest of vines erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves hungrily around his limbs. Tegryn peered over to the other side of the clearing, although everybody already knew who was behind this - it was Flora's handiwork alright, with Cornelia stood next to her preparing to try something herself. At the Earth Guardian's command, a mass of woody stems exploded out of the soil and enveloped the already entangled Ifrit until he was nothing more than a knarled old trunk with a few arms and legs sticking out in almost comical fashion.

"Yow! What's that?" Musa yelled, pointing up at the sky where a mass of white clouds had suddenly formed above the Ifrit's head, swirling faster and faster until an eye had formed in the centre.

"Whoa! I've never seen anything like it!" Stella cried.

Tegryn chuckled, while Layla looked on with a smile - unlike the others, they had both seen this before.

"You guys have never seen Mirta in action before, have you?"

"Mirta?" Musa gasped as she looked over to where the young red-haired witch was standing with her arms aloft, grasping her fiercely-glowing Spirit Rod firmly in one hand.

"Uh-huh. I tell ya, you're gonna love this. If she connects with this attack, this fight's over!"

The gang looked up in awe as thin fingers of pure white energy started to jump from the edges of the eye, becoming more and more frequent until a brilliant ball started to form where they met in the centre. Quickly it became brighter and more intense, filling the sky with its light like a newborn sun. Mirta yelled out as she struggled to maintain the massive forces being generated until finally, satisified that she had built up enough power, she dropped her arms by her sides with a yell of "Cloud Burst!".

Released from her hold, the massive sphere of energy followed suit, bearing down on the trapped Ifrit quicker than the eye could see. It enveloped its victim, blinding all who looked upon it with its almost unbearable light before knocking them off their feet courtesy of the huge explosion that followed - so huge was the blast, it would've been no surprise if the whole of Majix had felt its quake.

As the dust settled and the rain of earth, vine and tree had stopped, they gathered on the edge of large crater that had left behind, and warily peered inside. Apart from the odd splinter of wood, there was nothing to be seen but scorched earth.

"Phew! Nothing could've survived that." Flora said quietly.

"You're right - getting out of that alive would be a scientific impossibility!" Tecna added. "Thank goodness that's over!"

An eerie calm fell upon the scene, the only noise being the faint rustling of the breeze playing through the nearby trees. But then, an altogether less welcoming sound joined in - a sinister, familiar chuckle coming from high above their heads.

"Oh no, no, no - it's not over yet... not for me at least."

The crowd gasped as they looked up. The remnants of cloud left over from Mirta's attack had started to take on a unnatural orange glow.

"Look! Up there!" Bloom shouted.

"Is that thing really up there? How did he escape?" Tecna asked.

"More to the point, what's he doing now?" asked Musa as a series of large orange orbs of energy slowly shot off away from them from within the clouds... and then turned in mid-air and swerved towards our heroines (and hero).

"INCOMING!" yelled Hay Lin as she pointed towards them.

"Umm... didn't you already do that line?" Irma quipped as they ducked at the last minute to avoid being struck by the magical projectiles.

"Come on - we have to get out of here!" Cornelia shouted as she and the others started to run. Seeing that an orb was closing in fast, she stopped and quickly threw up a wall of earth in an effort to stop it - but it was no use. The ball smashed through the makeshift shield as though it was made out of sand.

"I'll hold them off!" Taranee cried as she prepared to face one ball that was heading towards her at high speed.

_"Shouldn't be too difficult..."_ she thought to herself, _"These look like they're made from fire, just like his other attacks. I just have to do what I did last time and deflect it away"_

Unfortunately her plan didn't quite go according to plan. Unlike the Fire Wave she dealt with before, this energy ball was a whole new kind of attack - more intense, and packing more power than its predecessor. With shocking force, the ball struck her square in the body, sending her flying and landing heavily on the ground.

"'Ranee!" Mimi and Nini yelled as they started to run to her aid.

"No!" Tegryn shouted. "You get out of here with the others. I'll deal with this!"

"But we..."

"GO!" he shouted even louder as he went to pick Taranee up.

"Teggy, look out!" she cried as she stood up, seeing that the same ball was circling around for another strike.

"Don't worry - I've got it... I think." Tegryn said as he closed his eyes and steadied himself. Taranee looked on wide-eyed in fright as the orb bore down onto them. At the last minute, with a cry of "Void Barrier!", Tegryn opened his eyes and thrust out his hands. The firey ball rushed forward to strike its intended target... and disappeared with a dark ripple.

Tegryn's stood still for a moment... then his body trembled and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Teggy. What happened?" Taranee asked as Mimi, Nini, Musa and Irma rushed forward to join them.

"I've never seen you do that before Teggy - Void Barrier? What on Majix is that?" Musa asked.

"I... I guess it's kinda like my Magic Mirror spell... but I somehow tapped into my dark magic... I think I sent that thing into limbo... into nothingness."

"Wow. That must've taken a shedload of power. No wonder you're wiped."

"Yeah, you're right - it normally takes three witches to do that... powerful ones too... more powerful than me." he said weakly as he struggled to his feet. "I won't be doing that again in a hurry."

"That's a shame, 'cos here come some more!" Irma cried as she spotted three more moving quickly in their direction.

"Can you run?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not sure... I feel absolutely knackered right now." Tegryn replied.

"We'll carry you then!" said Nini with a wink as she and her sister hooked his arms over their shoulders and took off.

"But what about Musie and..."

"It's okay Teggy, just go!" Musa shouted from behind them.

"Yeah, we could do with the exercise anyway!" Irma grinned. "We'll catch you up."

"Okay, we'll race ya! Here we... whoa! Heads up girls!"

Tegryn and the twins had barely got ten feet off the ground when they were buzzed by the first of the three balls, causing them to veer dramatically to the side. Up ahead, two fireballs were circling round in front of them. Seeing this, the twins started to climb higher.

"Hold on Teggy..."  
"Looks like we're taking the high road!"

Looking down below, he could see the others being hounded by countless orbs, sweeping above their heads, even bumping them as they tried to run away. Behind them, Musa, Taranee and Irma were making good ground - thankfully they weren't being hassled quite so much.

"Something's up. Those things... they're not actually trying to harm us - they're just take us where they want us to go. It's almost as if..." he said as he looked forwards. Up ahead, he could see that the high cliffs that bordered the clearing were quickly closing in on them. He recognised instantly what was happening. "It's a trap! Those things are herding us into a corner!"

Sure enough, even though they tried to make a break for open ground, the fireballs rudely bounced their quarry right where the Ifrit wanted them.

"Whoa!" Mimi yelled as one of the orange orbs flew just centimetres over their heads, causing them to dip suddenly. Above them, the other pair were hovering menacingly, getting ready to follow up what the first ball had started.

"Looks like it's a dead end for us too!"

The three set down in front of the others, who were stood panting, trapped in the corner where the two cliffs merged. Tegryn made his way over to Musa, who clung tightly to him.

"Teggy! Oh Teggy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to the twins. At least you're all okay."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Bloom said gravely. "Look at those things - what are they doing?"

Bloom wasn't the only one who was slightly baffled. The fireballs, which had previously been fizzing around the place like nobody's business and causing them all sorts of bother, were now all more or less stationary, some at ground level, some at various points in the air, but all of them lined up... and all of them trapping them in the corner.

And then, inexplicably, they plunged into the ground. Almost instantly, the ground started to shake violently, and a huge wall of intense flame spewed out of the ground, arching around in mid-air to form a firey dome against the rocky cliff-faces. And then, to make things even worse, the dome of fire started to shrink in on itself, starting a slow, sinister march towards its helpless prey, and leaving a smouldering, blackened trail as it went. And from out of those flames, the Ifrit emerged, slowly marching forward to put an end to the puny beings it now had at its mercy.

They were well and truly trapped now, with no hope of escape.

"Oh man - I REALLY think we're in trouble now."


	24. Know Your Enemy

**Here we are, this story's almost a quarter of a century old (so to speak) and at long last we find out just what the hell an Ifrit actually is...**

**Thanks to: Meg (giggling in a library eh? Tut tut tut... by the way, a snake and a brain walk into a bar. The barman takes one look at them and says to the brain "I'm not serving you... you're out of your head and he's legless... _bdum tschh...)_, Spongey (don't worry dear, we all know you're sane... no, really), Kira (the comics I've read spell it Kandakar, but who cares?) and Lily Bloom (mi amigo español who reviewed a chapter in 'Lost in Love').**

**Random Quote: Touch my chocloate croissant and enter a world of pain!** (Cornelia, W.I.T.C.H.)

* * *

Tegryn gulped as he watched the immense wall of flame slowly approaching to engulf them. They were at least a hundred metres away, but they may as well be right on top of him. It seemed as though his worst fear, his fear of being burnt alive, was about to come true. Trembling, he crouched and backed up against the rocky cliff as tightly as he could as his phobia threatened to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile, the Ifrit gloated as he looked at the fairies assembled in a group in front of him, cornered like rats in a trap.

"Now I have you right where I want you. You were brave to think you could stand up to me, but you've been beaten. Your mission has failed before it's even begun. My master will be pleased!"

Everyone shuddered as flames suddenly surrounded the Ifrit's hands as it held them above his head. The ball of flame effortlessly grew larger and larger. It was clear what the Ifrit had planned - it was going to finish them off in one swoop. But just the Ifrit prepared to unleash his monstrous attack, he was suddenly struck by a small fireball that seemed to come out of the flaming dome. Whatever it was, it made him yell out in pain, making him release his attack way above the group's head.

The fireball crashed into the cliff face, sending a torrent of rocks plunging onto the people below.

"Don't worry, we've got it!" Mimi said as she once agin grabbed her sister's hand. "Harmonic Shield!"

With their combined powers, the twins' shield easily withstood the bombardment, and they looked up in relief as the last of the stones bounced harmlessly off their bubble.

"What's happening to that thing?" Bloom said, watching on as the Ifrit was attacked by more and more fireballs, each one hitting him full on and sending him staggering backwards.

Tegryn stood up - now that the Ifrit was distracted, this was the chance he was waiting for.

"Optical Darkness!" he shouted, raising one hand and firing a thin beam of black energy straight at the Ifrit's face. The instant it hit, the Ifrit's eyes changed from their usual deep glowing orange to a dull black. The Ifrit yelled as he clutched his eyes, trying to somehow free himself from the magic that blinded it.

The bombardment that had sent the Ifrit reeling suddenyl stopped and a shape emerged from the dome of fire - and a most welcome shape it was too.

"Charlotte! You're back!" Anyuna yelled joyfully.

"Took your time didn't ya Charlie"  
"Yeah, you've missed all the fun!" the twins joked.

Charlotte landed in front of her friends and glared angrily over her shoulder at their enemy.

"Just as I thought - it's the Ifrit."

"Ifrit?" Tegryn asked.

"Yeah. That creep's the one that was causing all the trouble on my homeworld."

"Ifrit... Ifrit. I've heard that somewhere before..." Tegryn murmured, holding his head as he racked his memory.

"I've never heard of it." said Tecna. "And I've read up on every creature in Majix."

"It's not from Majix. I've heard it on Earth, but where? It's not an English word..."

"Well what language is it?" Taranee asked. "Is it... Chinese?"

"No." he replied, shaking his head.

"Japanese?"

"No."

"Erm... Hindu? Russian? Turkish?"

"No."

"Swahili? Hebrew? Arabic? Greek? Italian?"

"No... no, wait! Arabic! Yes, that's it!" he said with a truimphant click of his fingers. "Yes, I remember now! It was a few years ago when I was trekking through the Arabian Desert. I met up with a tribe of wandering bedouins and..."

Irma interrupted him. "You were trekking through the Arabian Desert?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you met up with a tribe of bedouins?"

"Uh-huh."

"So where did you think you REALLY were?"

A short silence fell as Tegryn blushed slightly. "Paris." he mumbled.

"Paris?!" Cornelia blurted out. "Oh, but of course. Paris... the Arabian Desert - they're so easily confused, aren't they?"

"Well, I heard they built a little beach on the Seine." (1)

"Right... and I suppose the lack of Eiffel Tower didn't give it away at all?"

"Well, it did raise a few suspicions... anyway, I was sitting around the campfire with these guys, and they were telling me about all sorts of wierd things, like our friend over there." he said, pointing at the Ifrit, who was still staggering about, blinded. "I thought they were just fairytales, but I guess they weren't."

"So what is that thing?" Taranee asked. "I mean, he's obviously a master of fire magic."

"More than that Taranee - he IS fire. The arabs told me that the Ifrit are part of a race known as the Jinn, who were originally created from fire. Ghosts, spirits, genies, demons - they'll all Jinn, and the Ifrit are the most powerful of the lot. They're nearly always evil... and they can't be destroyed."

"What?! If we can't destroy it, what are we gonna do? How do we stop it?" Charlotte asked a little too loudly. The Ifrit laughed as he heard the voice of his young adversary.

"Well well well, if it isn't the little Nahriina. Now I'll get the chance to finish what I started... beginning with your other eye!"

Tegryn looked at his friend with a look of pure anger on his face. "Charlotte... your eye. Did... THAT thing do it to you?"

"Yeah." she replied, gingerly touching her swollen cheek.

"Oh, that does it!" he said as he strode forward, his anger making him oblivious to the flams that surrounded them "No-one beats up on my friends and gets away with it! It's time to put this creep away!"

"But.. you said we can't destroy it."

"Maybe not, but we can do the next best thing - pin it down so we can get out of here and find Will. Cornelia - can you give us two columns on either side of that thing?"

"Easy!" she said, smiling. With minimal effort, two thick pillars of rock rose up out of the ground, one of the left side of the Ifrit, one on the right.

"Nice one. Charlotte - it looks like your magic has some effect on it."

"Sure does. Don't quite know how though, but..."

"It doesn't matter. We need a wall of fire directly behind him."

"With pleasure!" she said, cracking her petite knuckles. Quicker than you could say 'barbequed bad guy', a roaring wall of fire duly rose up out of the ground. The Ifrit, sensing the heat from her unique magic, started to recoil away from it.

"Right. Now Taranee - you're a bit of a dab hand when it come to manipulating fire, aren't you? We need chains, lots of 'em, and then..."

"Don't worry Teggy, I'm way ahead of you!" At Taranee's will, linked chains burst out of the fire. The Ifrit yelled loudly as they coiled tightly around him, smoke rising into the air as they seared into his flesh. As the creature finally lost his focus, the fire dome slowly began to vanish, revealing the Red Fountain ship hovering above them. Soon, the wicked beast was completely enveloped in a mass of burning chains that bound him fast to Cornelia's columns.

"You won't get away! You can't hold me forever!" he yelled in pain and fury as the others hastily made their way onto the waiting ship.

"Toodles, ugly!" Hay Lin grinned, waving cheekily out of the window as they sped away. As they finally made their way to their destination, everyone's mood was bouyant after their little victory - all except Tegryn. Musa, being the caring soul that she is, could sense his unease.

"Teggy? What's up?" she said, placing a hand on his leg.

"I've just remembered something else." he replied glumly.

"Like what?"

"The Ifrit - they can't be controlled. The old sheikh told me that only one man in history had the power to control the Jinn and the Ifrit... and that's only because of some sort of divine miracle." (2)

"So?"

"So, if Darkar now has enough power to enslave an Ifrit... saving Will is gonna be even tougher than we thought."

* * *

**1. It's true, they did. If you want to know just what on Earth I'm referring to, go to Google and search for 'paris beach seine' (without the quotes).**

**2. It's written in the Qur'an that King Solomon (peace be upon him) was granted this ability by Allah, along with power over the wind and an understanding of the speech of animals.**


	25. Mind Games

**Happy St David's day! For all who don't know, this is when we in this little part of the UK eat loads of Welsh Cakes and (for those who have children) send your kids to school in traditional Welsh clothing (either a rugby shirt for boys, or a traditional dress and funny hat for girls). **

**Oh, and this is now officially my longest ever-fanfic, so hooray for me!**

**Thanks to: Spongey (we're all just a little insane... isn't that a song title? If not, it should be) and Meg (or La Meg, as she seems to be getting more and more interested in all things French)**

**A Very Big Thanks to: Ricky Lambert, for scoring THAT goal to send Bristol Rovers into the Football League Trophy final - take that Bristol City, you bunch of red scumbags!**

**Random Quote: ****Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus** (Happy St David's Day in Welsh, pronounced something like 'dith guul dowie hapis')

* * *

Darkar and the Trix looked on unimpressed as they gazed at the image of the Ifrit yowling in anger and agony as it tried in vain to free himself from the flaming trap. Darkar was particulary annoyed at having what was supposed to be a good wholesome spot of fairy-splatting entertainment spoilt. 

"Hey LD, aren't you going to let that thing go?" Icy asked.

"Yeah, you're not really gonna let those pixies get away with this, right?" Stormy added.

"Hmph! Let those fools enjoy their little victory." Darkar muttered. "And as for him... he'll stay where he is for now. I will not tolerate failure. I have to admit though, I am rather impressed by the way your friends handled my slave..." he said turning to Will.

But Will didn't answer. She just stood there, motionless, with her eyes screwed shut.

"Asleep? Already?" Darcy snorted as she peered closely at the young redhead.

Icy joined in, leaning forwards with her hands on her hips. "Smart girl. She needs all the strength she can get!"

But unknown to them, Will wasn't sleeping - her mind was elsewhere...

* * *

Back on the Red Fountain speeder, the gang prepared themselves as best they could as they raced ever closed to their showdown, and the fact that there was more than two seats on this ride helped to comfort them just a little bit. Tegryn, still exhausted from the battle with the Ifrit, giggled as Musa whispered sweet nothings into his ear whilst feeding him a bar of chocolate that Brandon had found stashed in a storage compartment. Of course, the chocolate was warm and slightly melted thanks to the Nahri effect, but Tegryn didn't care - chocolate is chocolate, the ultimate comfort food, especially when you've been totally exhausted by using so much dark magic - and especially when it's being fed to you by your fiancée. 

Tecna leant on the ship's dashboard, staring lovingly at Timmy as he piloted the craft whilst trying his best not to get distracted by the pretty pink-haired fairy by his side. Poor Tecna - she was feeling more than a little bit guilty over the way Timmy's pride and joy had been well and truly trashed, but was mightily relieved when he forgave her - now all she needed was for Riven to stop making wisecracks about women drivers.

In one corner, Layla stood together with Jason in a loving embrace, gazing longingly at him with her slate-blue eyes, which seemed to sparkle even more than usual in the fluorescent lights that lit the ship's cabin.

"So Jase, how was Nahri?"

"Amazing. It's such a beautiful planet - you'd love it."

Layla gave him one of her typically coy, sweet smiles. "Well, when this is all over, you're gonna have to take me there!"

"Sure baby, I'd love to. Just one thing though..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't bother packing your thermals!"

Most of the others were sat in a huddle, chatting non-stop about music and all sorts of other Earth-type gossip whilst trying to figure out some sort of battle-plan, when Mimi noticed that Taranee was sitting apart from them with her eyes closed.

"Hey 'Ranee, what's up?" she asked as she sat next to her.

"Hmmm? Oh nothing. I'm just trying to see if I can reach Will"

"Reach her? From here? Are your arms really that long?"

"No, I mean reach her telepathically." Taraneed giggled. "Man I hope she's okay..."

She closed her eyes once more and concentrated.

_'Will... Will... can you hear me?'_

A slightly worrying pause followed.

_'Will? Are you there?'_

_'Taranee? Is that you? Boy, am I glad to hear a non-evil voice!'_

A huge beaming smile appeared on Taranee's face as she heard her friend's answer.

"I've reached her." she informed the others, most of whom had by now crowded around her. _'Will... how are you doing?'_

_'I've been better. That thing that brought me here is just plain scary, those three girls Darkar hangs out with are just plain annoying, and Darkar himself is so creepy it's unbelievable. And they haven't even offered me any food. It totally sucks here!'_

_'How you are holding out against Darkar's spell?'_

_'I'm managing, but I don't know for how long - his powers are really strong. Wait a minute... how did you know about that anyway?'_

_'We saw it. Mirta did some sort of spell... an eavesdropping spell, I think she called it. We saw how he had you pinned to the wall, then he said something about you invading Kandrakar with him... and it was right then that he realised we were spying on him.'_

_'Oh, so that's what he meant when he said that thing about you guys catching all that. You ain't the only ones eavesdropping though. That fight you had with that Ifrit thing was intense.'_

_'You saw all that?'_

_'Uh-huh. Darkar's been watching you the whole time. I tell you, this guy has some serious power - if only he wasn't a psycho megalomaniac.'_

_'Oh come now Miss Vandom - that wasn't very nice, now was it?'_

Will's and Taranee's eyes both flicked open at this sudden interruption.

_'Oh, I'm sorry - was this a private conversation, or can any dark lord join in?'_

Taranee gasped.

_'What?! Are you... Darkar?'_

_'Lord Darkar, if you don't mind.'_

_'But... how is that possible?'_

_'I think you'll find there are many things that are now possible for me. For instance, I could wipe all of you out right at this very moment if I wanted to... but where's the fun in that? Heh. I look forward to seeing you all soon, especially you Taranee. But what should I do with you? Perhaps I should be merciful and destroy you first, just to save you the agony of watching your friends suffer...'_

_'You don't frighten me.'_

_'...or perhaps I should leave you till last, just so you can watch your dear friend Will become my willing slave.'_

_'YOU DON'T FRIGHTEN ME!'_

Darkar laughed a cruel, heartless laugh that rang loudly through Taranee's head - so loud, she had to check herself from screaming. Darkar, obviously revelling in Taranee's distress, continued his intimidating banter.

_'Oh, but I do frighten you little girl, I do. You can't hide from me. I can see you... I can hear you... and best of all, I can feel your fear from here. Now, as much as I would love to continue our conversation, I have preparations to make for your little visit. Until later, little girl!'_

Taranee was suddenly broken from her telepathic link, and all too soon she became aware of the many pairs of eyes which were now looking at her in concern. As she slumped back in her seat and swallowed hard, she could tell she had broken out into a cold sweat - she felt as though that horrid, sneering voice of Darkar's had torn her shy, timid soul into shreds.

"Taranee? What happened?" Irma asked as she clutched her friend's trembling hand.

"Oh man... I was talking with Will and then... then that Darkar cut in. He... he said..." Taranee stuttered, her voice quivering as she fought to regain her composure. "He knows we're coming. He saw what we did to that Ifrit. He's watching everything we do - everything!"

A stunned silence briefly followed as everybody took this revelation in.

"Well I hope he really did see everything," Anyuna replied defiantly, "'Cos then he'll know that we're no pushovers! I don't know about you guys, but I'm more than ready to kick his bony butt... and his little cronies too!"


	26. My Pet Monster

**Thanks to: Meg and Spongey (we're all in agreement - Darkar is a very VERY dodgy character indeed. If only Rainbow / 4kids made him this creepy), and Miranda, who along with Mirta is probably the most underappreciated character in any cartoon around today. And no Cedric, that's NOT an invitation - just stick to someone your own age, okay?**

**No thanks to: the BBC, who decided to put WITCH on hold in favour of 'Comic Relief Does Fame Academy' - yuck! And right when things were getting interesting too :(**

**Random Quote: Feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feeeeed meeeee! **(my goldfish Ryoga, if she could talk)

* * *

It's quiet... too quiet. 

Sky bit his lip.

He was thinking about saying that sentence out loud ever since they all set foot into the long, winding caverns that led underground to Shadowhaunt, but then he remembered the ribbing he got from Riven when he used that cheesy line back on Nahri, so he thought better of it. Besides, he didn't really need to say it anyway - he knew full well that everyone else was thinking the exact same thing, none more so than Layla.

Out of all of them, Layla had been down to the god-forsaken depths of the Under-Realm the most, on her previous attempts to free her beloved pixies from the dark lord's grasp, and on each and every one of those times, monsters had been virtually crawling out of the walls, attacking her, spitting their vile phlegm at her, making every attempt to crush her into fairy dust.

But this time... nothing.

The dark, gloomy caverns that led to Darkar's lair were silent, save for the odd drip of water splashing on their hard rock floor, and twenty-two pairs of feet creeping warilythrough them. Of course, they all knew that their quiet creeping was totally pointless, for they all knew that Darkar was expecting them. They may as well have an entire marching band following them - at least the band's jaunty music would have lifted their spirits a bit.

But maybe that was what Darkar wanted. Maybe he wanted them to think it was safe. Maybe he wanted them to let their guard down, just for a moment, just so he could unleash an entire pack of his ferocious beasts upon them when they least expected it. Better to be safe than sorry, it was decided, and so the teens continued, quietly creeping through the passages, with their sense of fear and foreboding not being helped by their shadows dancing on the walls as they passed a number of eerily-glowing crystals embedded into them.

The quiet trek was broken by Irma.

"Say, Musa." she whispered. "Why aren't you guys in, you know, full fairy mode?"

"It's this place." the music fairy replied in a hushed tone. "There's something about it. We've been down here before. It drains a fairy's powers, so we gotta conserve our strength as much as possible."

"Yeah. In fact I'm started to feel it right now." Stella replied, slightly wearily. "Can't you girls feel it?"

"Yeah." Taranee replied. "Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a bit tired too. Only a tiny bit though."

"I guess it's not just fairies who get affected." Tecna guessed.

"And I thought this place couldn't get any creepier!"

"Teggy, how are you holding up?" Musa asked.

"It's wierd." he replied, looking at his palms. "You guys are getting tired, but I'm not. In fact, I'm feeling the opposite. I mean, I was still feeling totally knackered from that fight with the Ifrit when we stepped off the ship, but ever since coming down here, I feel... energised."

"Interesting." Tecna wondered. "Maybe it's the dark magic inside you. Perhaps its feeding off the energy down here."

"But I never felt this way before. I certainly didn't feel any different the last time I was down here."

"If I remember right Teggy, you weren't really connected with your powers back then, were you? Maybe that's why." (1)

"Maybe. Who cares. I just hope this effect lasts, 'cos I get the feeling we'll need as much help as we can get."

They pressed on through the passages, treading carefully, ever-prepared for the onslaught of terrifying monsters that never came, until finally they arrived at a large cavern. In its centre was what appeared to be a collection of impossibly huge stalagtites suspended from the ceiling like a mouthful of gigantic fangs, with cascades of murky greenish water falling from various points. Everyone stopped and took in this awesome, menacing sight.

"Well here we are - Darkar's crib." said Musa as they cautiously made their way across a rope bridge into into the unguarded fortress. One by one they followed, looking around them half-expecting to be jumped at any moment, and quietly entered through a large doorway.

"Man - talk about your fixer-upper!" Irma said, looking around her at the cracked stone walls and pillars as they ventured through the hall.

"Yeah, it could definately use a girl's touch!" Cornelia added.

The hallway quickly ended in a large circular chamber with a domed roof - it was so large, they could barely see the exit set into the light stone wall at the opposite end. Despite the fact that it was so deep underground, the room was surprisingly well-lit. Something wasn't right, but then again, this whole place had WRONG written all over it. Undaunted, they began to cross, their footsteps echoing around the empty circle of walls. Musa giggled.

"Helloooo-ooo!" she sang sweetly, smiling as her voice bounced playfully back and forth into the distance.

"Echo!" Tegryn shouted, joining his love in this little game.

"BOO!"

The group stopped as this new voice filled the room, vibrating through them.

"I'm sorry. Did that frighten you?" a voice sneered from out of nowhere. Everyone immediately stood on guard because they knew who this voice belonged to - Darkar.

"It's been rather funny, watching you children jumping at shadows. I suppose you're all eager to see your friend Will, aren't you?"

Darkar's question was met with defiant silence. The dark one continued.

"Well, maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to see her later. But first, let me introduce you to my pet."

At his cue, a small, spindly bat rushed over their heads and flapped around in front of them.

"Meet Kerborg. I'm sure you'll agree, he's not very impressive at the moment, is he? Let's see... how can I make him more entertaining?" A short pause. "Ah yes, this was do quite nicely!"

Four pale magenta circles suddenly appeared on the floor beneath Kerborg and bathed him in their light. The air around the bat began to glow as he slowly began to morph, growing to an incredible size as he changed shape, all the while filling the chamber with a blinding light.

"There. I do hope you have fun with my Ankylocephadon!"

As Darkar's voice disappeared into nothingness, so did the glow that surrounded Kerborg's new form. No longer was he the spindly little bat that had fluttered around them while Darkar did his little gloating act. Instead, the group were faced with a huge, prehistoric monster. It was stood low to the ground on four thick legs, his arched back shielded with what appeared to be thick bony armour-plating, with large spikes dotted around his sides. A big vicious-looking studded bone club lay on the end of its muscular tail. His head was equally well-protected by a thick dome perched above a pair of glowing red eyes, and was finished off with a cruel-looking beak lined with glistening, needle-sharp teeth. Just to complete the effect, the Ankylocephadon roared an unnatural roar, and roared it so loudly it seemed to shake the entire castle. (2)

The gang quailed in front of the beast which stood between them and the exit - all of a sudden, a swarm of spit monsters didn't seem quite so bad...

* * *

**1. This is a reference to Part 2 of this series, 'Back to the Old School', where Tegryn was kidnapped by the Trix and taken to Darkar in Shadowhaunt believing him to be ultra-powerful. However, they found nothing in the way of power whatsoever, and it was only after some tuition from Discorda that he was finally able to 'connect' with his magic.**

**2. Gimme an Ankylosaurus! Gimme a Pachycephalosaurus! Gimme an Iguanadon! What have you got? ANKYLOCEPHADON! (in other words, this mean little beastie is actually a combination of three real-life dinosaurs)**


	27. Out of the Frying Pan

**Thanks to: Meg, Kira and Spongey, the three lovely people who reviewed the last chapter.**

**A Big Shout To: The England cricket team - good luck in the World Cup! (we'll probably need it...)**

**Random Quote: Oooooh. This is really rather painful!** (Skinner from 'Hot Fuzz', after getting his chin impaled on a steeple of a miniature model church. This film is released in the US on April 20th and I heartily recommend you all see it - it's extremely funny AND one of the main characters wears a Bristol Rovers shirt in a couple of scenes!)

**And finally...** it seems normal service will be resumed next week, as the BBC will be carrying WITCH on where they so rudely left off last week.

* * *

The stage was set. 

On one side, a group of young guys and girls on a noble and courageous quest, with magic in their hearts and bravery in their souls.

On the other, an enormous, evil, hideous beast which scraped a massive foot on the ground as it fixed them with a stare which told them all they needed to know about what was on its mind - destroy - and it wasted no time in setting to work as, with a loud bellow, it charged at the group.

"Not so fast!" Cornelia said as she laid her hand on the floor. "Earth!"

The ground in front of her suddenly began to crack, breaking up into large chunks to form a rough, jagged surface.

"That'll slow it down!" she said to herself with a satisfied smile.

Unfortunately, the Ankylocephadon had other ideas.

Instead of stopping or brainlessly charging through the jagged little peaks, it simply leapt over the obstacle. For such a huge, lumbering beast, it was surprisingly nimble. As it turned out, it was also surprisingly supple - whilst in mid-air, it suddenly arced its back to one side before swinging itself around, sending the club on what turned out to be an unbelievably telescopic tail hurtling towards the crowd at great speed... and Bloom was directly in its path.

"Bloom! Look out!" Sky yelled.

Bloom did so, twisting her body acrobatically and jumping back just in time as the creature's weapon whizzed past her, missing by inches before slamming into the wall and leaving a small crater.

"Phew, that was close." Bloom exclaimed in relief as she watched the creature bring its weapon back to iteself, before suddenly wincing and dropping to one knee, clutching her left side.

"What happened?" Sky asked as he raced to her.

"I don't know. I can barely breathe." she groaned sharply as she tried to inhale, but something was stopping her. Timmy ran a medi-scan over her.

"What does it say?" Sky asked him.

Timmy peered at the readout, and gave the device a quick tap as though he didn't quite believe what it was telling him.

"It's reading multiple fractures. Half the ribs on her left side are broken."

They looked at him in disbelief.

"That's impossible! That thing didn't even touch her!"

"I know. Maybe it's the dark magic that thing's composed of."

"It looks like Darkar's pet is gonna be more dangerous than we first thought." Tegryn said when he heard this. "It's a good job I'm feeling more dangerous too!"

He breathed in deeply as he began to muster his power - he could tell that a creature this heavily armoured would take an attack with a lot of force behind it. He was right about one thing - ever since venturing down into the Under-Realm, his power had most definately increased. His eyes were closed, his mind completely focused as he drew more and more power to his attack, so much so that his entire body began to glow with currents of energy that swirled gently around his body.

Finally, he flicked his eyes open. The Ankylocephadon was there right in front of him with its back turned, with a number of his friends flittering around him trying their hardest to make an impression, and failing miserably as their magic blasts just bounced off it.

"Guys! Move it!" Musa yelled from behind Tegryn. They all turned and looked, and quickly scattered, landing tiredly a safe distance away and reverting back to their normal forms as they slumped breathlessly onto the ground. The Ankylocephadon also turned and looked at him, but he didn't run. This was just another target, and so he charged.

_'Come on handsome, just a little further'_ Tegryn thought to himself, knowing that the closer he could get the beast to come to him before unleashing his attack, the less chance he would have of missing. Soon, the time came.

"RAGE BLAST!" he cried at the top of his voice as he let loose, sending an insane amount of energy straight at the monster. Tegryn struggled to keep his footing and he skidded back a yard, so powerful was the force of his attack. Thankfully, his blast hit the beast straight between the eyes and sent it flying, tumbling over and over itself along the floor as it went.

But then something unexpected happened. The monster was somehow able to regain its footing and it stood fast, head bowed into the Rage Blast as it planted its huge feet into the ground. It fought hard against Tegryn's attack, ploughing a foursome of furrows into the hard stone floor as it was pushed back until eventually it was able to stand still.

Tegryn halted and stared at the creature, who glared back at him from across the room. With a loud roar, the Ankylocephadon charged once more, before leaping into the air and curling itself into a ball which shook the ground with every bounce, its speed ever-increasing. Musa and Tegryn looked on in horror as it bore down on them, before leaping out of the way. The monster-ball crashed into the wall behind them, sending a powerful tremor through the room that nearly took everyone off their feet.

Chunks of the ceiling started to fall in on the group, small at first, but soon getting larger and more difficult to dodge.

"Quick! Gather round us!" Mimi yelled and she and her sister linked hands. Soon, everyone was huddled in the protective shell of the Harmonic Shield as lumps of ceiling crashed all around them. Musa looked up, and gasped as she saw the pained expressions on the twins' faces - their effort was taking everything they had, and if they were to lose it now, everyone was done for. She quickly stood up and took Nini's hand.

"Teggy, what's she doing?" Irma asked.

"She's adding her energy to theirs to try and keep this shield going. It's a rather nifty benefit of all being Melody fairies."

Eventually the monsoon of stone subsided and the three music fairies collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Tegryn rushed over and cradled Musa in his arms, who gazed wearily up at him.

"Damn it! What's it going to take to beat this thing?" Riven asked with more than a hint of frustration in his voice as he and the other Specialists stood and faced the monster clambering over the pile of rubble that had fallen on top of it.

"It's going take ages to wear it down." said Sky, who then gasped. "Of course! That's exactly what Darkar's doing - he's just wasting our time. Every minute we spend down here, Will is falling deeper and deeper into Darkar's clutches."

"Plus his little pet is doing a great job of softening us up." Brandon said, looking down at the exhausted fairies and Bloom nursing her broken ribs.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Stella asked.

"I'll tell you what you guys going to do - you're going to get the hell out of here!" Riven replied.

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Me and the boys will keep this thing busy. The rest of you make a break for the door. GO!"

Tegryn got up and stood alongside Sky, eager for the fight.

"You heard what he said. Hurry up and go - we'll hold this thing off."

"No Teggy, you're going as well. Your magic's more powerful down here - the girls will need you to face Darkar a lot more than we'll need you here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we've wrangled bigger and uglier things than this. Just look after Bloom for me, okay?"

"Okay, if you're sure." Tegryn reluctantly replied as he turned to Bloom, who was slowly picking herself up, still holding her side tenderly. "Can you run?"

"No, I don't think so." she replied painfully. "I still can't breathe right."

"I'd better carry you then." he said, scooping her up and gently cradling her in his arms before turning to Musa. "You don't mind me doing this, do you Musie?"

"No, it's all for a good cause!" she replied with a cheeky glint in her eye. "As long as you do the same for me when we get home!"

"Your wish is my command, my Princess!" Tegryn laughed. "It'd be good practice for our wedding day! Come on, let's go."

With that, Tegryn and the girls made a dash for the exit, hoping to leave the sounds of the boys battling with the Ankylocephadon further and further behind them. Unfortunately, the monster heard their footsteps running away, and so he turned and started to charge. Recognising the danger, Helia tried to ensnare it with his laser-string glove, but the multi-tonne beast was simply too strong and dragged the Specialist behind him, forcing him to let go.

"Girls! Get out of here! Quickly!" he yelled helplessly behind them, willing them toward the door as the Ankylocephadon quickly closed in on them, swishing its tail as it prepared to flatten them. One by one, the group dashed through the door, leaving only Tegryn, Musa and Bloom bringing up the rear.

Closer and closer they got to the exit.

Closer and closer the Ankylocephadon got to them.

Everyone looked on nervously as they ran with the monster hot on their heels. With barely a second to spare, they made it through the doorway, just as the Ankylocephadon smashed into it and brought the doorway down around it.

Tegryn, Bloom and Musa sat on the floor, panting as they watched the terrifying beast disappear behind the growing pile of rubble.

"Phew. Come on babe." Musa said as she helped Tegryn and Bloom up. "We've still got a long way to go."

Slowly and quietly, Tegryn and the girls made their way through the passageway, which led into another passageway followed by yet another passageway. After a few mnutes of trekking through what seemed like a maze of passageways, they found themselves in a columned hall which led into the corner of a large, rectangular room. Although it was smaller in size then the previous chamber, this room had a lighter, airier feel to it, thanks mainly to the thin openings that were cut through the wall at one end of the room, leading back outside into the main cavern. The group pressed on towards the exit located in the opposite corner, but no sooner had they reached halfway, a large stone door slammed shut, sealing off the exit with a boom. Another large boom behind them told them that the way they had just come in was also shut off - they were trapped.

And, just to make matters worse...

"Well well well - looks like you finally ditched those Red Fountain dweebs!"

The fairies gave a collective groan as the spiteful voice made itself heard. Icy, Darcy and Stormy had materialised in front of them, hovering in the air along one side of the room, their gloomixes glowly brightly.

"Just get out of our way and let us pass! We've already wasted enough time playing Darkar's games, and we don't need to waste any more!" Tegryn yelled.

"What do you say ladies - are you up for a rumble?" Icy asked her sisters.

"Oh yes, just like we planned." Darcy replied as she and Stormy moved out to either side of Icy, as though they were trying to outflank the do-gooders. Instictively, the group fanned out, ready to repel any side-on attacks.

"Very well, one rumble coming up!" Icy yelled as she thrust her arms up in the air. The ground shook violently and a pair of large straight cracks started to appear in parallel between the two longer sides of the room. Suddenly, two vast walls of thick ice rose up out of the ground, reaching right up to the ceiling... and splitting the group into three, one for each witch.

The separated groups of fairies and humans looked up at the witch who had chosen them to be their plaything. Whether they liked it or not, a fight was most definately on the cards... in triplicate.


	28. Ride The Wild Wind

**Thanks to: Kira, the only person who reviewed the last chapter (sigh). Still, I'm getting plenty of reviews for my other work-in-progress 'Miranda's Secret Diary', so when you're done reading (and reviewing, please?) this chapter, why not go and take a look. Go on, you know you want to.**

**Random Quote: What's the point of the end of the world if you can't drive through a goddam board fence?** ('Cell' by Stephen King)

* * *

In the right-hand section of the newly-divided room, Layla, Mimi, Nini, Charlotte, Taranee and Hay Lin stood facing off against Stormy, who hovered above them with an evil glint in her eye.

"Hah! Just look at you little dweebs," she sneered as she surveyed the girls in front of her, particularly the younger and smaller earth girls. "Looks like I've got the easiest bunch of the lot!"

"Hmph! Try telling that to your Ifrit friend!" Charlotte replied with a wry little smile on her face.

"Yeah, let's face it - if Shaz can take down an indestructible demon..." Mimi started.  
"...a single witch with bad hair should be no probs at all!" Nini finished.

Stormy's face visibly darkened when she heard the twins' put-down - how dare they diss her hair, her pride and joy?

"So, you think you won't have any problems with me, huh?" she growled in anger. "You're about to find out it wasn't just Darkar who got a little power-up! Ball Lightning!"

A rapid-fire series of blue-white energy balls suddenly shot out of her outstretched hand and sped towards the unsuspecting girls at high speed. Stormy laughed at the sight of them jumping this way and that as they tried to avoid getting hit, and revelled in the sound of the lightning balls slamming into the ground with a dull thud.

"Enjoy that, did you? Well have some more!" she yelled, releasing a dense flurry of lightning balls at a rate so quick it was impossible to count just how many. For what seemed to them like an eternity (but in reality, a good few minutes), the girls were forced to duck, weave and leap as they struggled to keep out of reach... but in their already weakened state, it was only a matter of time before the pressure told.

As she acrobatically dodged one ball, Layla was caught unawares by another that struck her a glancing blow in the side and sent her staggering. That was quickly followed up by two more hitting her full on. She stood bolt upright, her eyes clenched tight as the electricity jolted through her body before she fell to the ground, clutching herself and twitching until the energy dissipated. She let out a soft groan as the pain finally subsided.

Charlotte looked at her friend as she slowly picked herself up, then glared back at Stormy.

"Bollocks to this!" she muttered through clenched teeth. "No more running - I'm attacking!"

With that, she released a flurry of her own - a volley of fireballs that matched their owner, small yet powerful. Taranee, who was standing on the other side of their section followed suit, firing off some of her own in an attempt to broadside the weather witch. It was no use though - no matter how many they released, Stormy was able to dodge them easily, sailing through the air as though their shots were flying in slow-motion. Stormy looked down at them with malicious glee.

"Awww, you can't be getting tired already little girls? Come on, try again! I'll even stay still this time!"

Charlotte and Taranee looked at each other, nodded, then continued their assault. True to her word, Stormy made no attempt to move. Unfortunately for the girls, she didn't need to - with nothing more than a nod of her head, she suddenly whipped up a tremendous gale which blew Charlotte and Taranee's attacks straight back in their faces.

The seven girls shielded their faces to avoid the small bits of dust and loose stone that was being whipped up by this windy onslaught, and all the time they were getting more and more frustrated. Here they were trying their hardest to defeat bad guy after bad guy in order to rescue their friend, and yet right now they were having very real problems just staying on two feet.

Stormy on the other hand was amused... very amused - and she decided it was high time to increase her amusement just that little bit more. Remembering the number she had just done on Layla, she added a bit of rain to the mix, turning a mere gale force wind into a full-scale hurricane. The witch couldn't help laughing at the sight of those girls, sprawled out on the floor before her all tired and completely soaking wet.

And then, with no warning at all, Stormy stopped. The wind and rain died down almost as quickly as they were whipped up, but if the girls were thinking that was end of her assault, they were in for a shock - literally.

Stormy closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her.

"What's she doing now?" Hay Lin asked.

The Air Guardian's question was answered very quickly as from out of nowhere, white sparks of electricity started to crackle around Stormy's body, dancing around her in an almost mesmerising tango. The crackles grew brighter and more intense until, for no apparent reason, they disappeared back into her.

Stormy opened her eyes with a wicked smile and yelled as she thrust her arms out by her sides. Streaming torrents of lightning suddenly poured out of her body, filling the room, bouncing off the walls from the ceiling down to the soaking wet floors and, most unfortunately, the equally wet girls. With no way of avoiding the myriad of bolts, they were forced to experience first-hand why water and electricity should never be mixed.

As they were quickly felled by Stormy's ultra-painful attack, the girls would've been forgiven for thinking things couldn't get any worse...

They were wrong.

Right at that very moment, a horrifying sound made itself heard from the central section of the room - it was a blood-curdling scream of pure agony that would haunt them for many days afterwards.

Stormy looked over to her side and laughed. "It sounds like Icy's having almost as fun as me!"

Charlotte, who was closest to the thick wall of ice, crawled over to it and peered through the ice as best she could. Although the ice was so thick, she could just about see a figure laying on the ground, and... red... a lot of red.

"Oh my! That looks like..."

All of a sudden, she was hit by a bolt of lightning that threw her many yards backwards.

"Hey! Eyes front nerd, I'm not done with you yet!" Stormy yelled mockingly.

That was it. Charlotte picked herself up with a grunt, her eyes burning with fire, her glasses cracked, her sopping wet summer dress clinging to her petite frame.

"I've had it with you, witch!" she growled.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do, pipsqueak?"

Saying nothing, Charlotte walked slowly into the centre of their section and stopped, before turning towards Stormy and yelling "Fire Storm!"

The shallow pool of water that covered the drenched floor in front of her began to swirl, and thin wisps of steam began to rise up as the spiral of air above it grew hotter and hotter until eventually the floor directly below it was bone dry. From out of nowhere, the spiral of hot air burst into a spiral of flame that grew larger and more intense as Charlotte poured everything she had into it.

"Oh, how cute." Stormy scoffed. "You're not the only one who can do twisters, you know! Psycho-Clone!"

At the witch's cry, a powerful dark tornado suddenly appeared in front of her and bore down on Charlotte's gathering storm, causing it to fizzle as they touched. Charlotte's face showed the strain as she struggled against Stormy's stronger spell. Taranee and Hay Lin could both see this, and they stood up together and joined Charlotte.

"Time to turn up the heat a bit." Taranee quipped as she added her own Guardian power to the fire fairy's spell.

"And now for a extra spin." Hay Lin added as she combined her forces with Charlotte and Taranee to form an even stronger tornado within the Fire Storm. With the extra fire and air currents building up inside it, the Fire Storm grew even larger and brighter, turning from a firey orange to a massive red hot flame which glowed white-hot in places.

The two massive twisters clashed in the middle, throwing off sparks of fire and eddies of air where they met, but despite the extra strength behind it, Stormy still had the upper hand. She was on home turf, and Charlotte's exertions were draining her fast.

The twins, who had been tending to Layla during all this, looked at each other and nodded.

"Come on Sis"  
"Let's show her what the Melody Sistas are all about!"

They lifted off and took up positions on either side of the clash of the elements. Together, they raised their hands in front of them.

"Sine Wave!"

Stormy, who had been completely focused on her attack, was suddenly forced to kneel on the ground, clasping her hands over her ears in agony as the deafening screech of the twins' audio attack burrowed into her head...

The moment she did that, she knew she had just made a major mistake.

With her hold on it gone, her Psycho-Clone attack was quickly driven apart and the souped-up Fire Storm attack was onto her in a flash. With a scream, she was engulfed by its searing hot winds as she was swallowed up by the eye of the storm.

Charlotte wanted to continue the attack further, but by now she was running on empty. Exhausted, she collapsed onto her hands and knees. The Fire Storm slowly dissipated, revealing an unconcious weather witch laying in the centre in clouds of steam and smoke. As an eerie silence fell upon them, the girls soon remembered what had happened before - that scream - and their attention fell onto the ice wall that separated them from their friends.

"There's gotta be some way of breaking through." Taranee said, panting. "Fire!"

The fire guardian let off the biggest fireball she could muster, but it just impacted against the wall with a dull 'whumph' and fizzled out. Again she tried, but it was no use - she was having no effect.

"One last time!" she gasped as she prepared herself... but right at that very moment, a loud BOOM shook the ground, taking them off their feet. A few seconds later, large cracks began to appear at the bottom of the wall, spreading upwards and growing larger until finally, the whole thing fell in on itself with a crash.

A few seconds later, the dust had settled, and the girls gasped in horror at the terrible sight that lay before them...

* * *

**Ooh! So what is this terrible sight then? **


	29. Dark Therapy

**Thanks to: Meg and Kira (both 'fans' of Stormy's hair, it seems!) and Spongey (luv ya little sis!).**

**A special shout out goes to: my beloved Bristol Rovers, as they prepare for their big cup final right here in Cardiff on Sunday (1st April). Time to dig out my eyepatch and skull & crossbones bandana! Come on you Gas!!!**

**Random Quote: I've never bitten an angel, but they'd probably taste of clouds.** (Miranda, in my other fanfic 'Miranda's Secret Diary')

* * *

**Just a little side-note before we begin - the events of this chapter are happening similtaneously with the last chapter. You may be able to spot one or two little parallels.**

* * *

In the left-hand section of the newly-divided room, Flora, Stella, Tecna, Mirta, Anyuna and Cornelia faced up to Darcy, who hovered above them with an evil glint in her eye. 

"Well look what the cat dragged in. I must say, I've never seen you pixies looking so rough!" she crowed in her usual deceptively smooth tone of voice as she looked down at the exhausted girls below her.

"Rough? Hmmph!" Cornelia snorted indignantly, crossing her arms angrily. "That's rich coming from Little Miss Warpaint over there!"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this - I'm getting my looks dissed by a witch!?" Stella snarled.

"So what are you going to do about it then, pixie?"

"Oh I'll show you I'm going to do." the princess replied as she slid the ring from her elegant hand and tossed it into the air. "It's time to break out the big guns!"

Darcy's smug smile turned into a dark frown as she watched the glowing ring transform into a magnificent golden sceptre with a beautiful moon and star at its head.

"The Celestial Sceptre? How revolting - it reminds me of my worthless brother!" (1)

"The Celestial Sceptre?" Flora cooed as the girls all stared in wonderment at the items which Stella now proudly held. "I didn't know you still had that."

"Well, the folks back home couldn't seperate my sceptre from the Sceptre of Lunaria, so Daddy-dearest decided to let me keep it."

"A good thing too." Tecna interrupted. "If I'm not mistaken, because it's so powerful, it means you'll be able to fight without using up your winx!"

"Good! Then why don't I use it? The sooner we get home, the sooner I can check into a decent salon. Oh, my poor dirty, frizzy hair!" Stella said sadly, patting her once wondrous golden locks before pointing her sceptre at Darcy. "Okay then witch, let's see you handle this! Sun Burst!"

The sceptre glowed brightly before letting off a brilliant yellow fireball that streaked towards Darcy. But the dark witch didn't move - she simply crossed her arms in front of her, and the fireball thudded into her, revealing a pulsing purple sphere that surrounded her.

"Not good enough pixie!" she shouted. "Try again!"

"With pleasure!" Stella replied as she released a trio of the fireballs. Once again, they slammed into Darcy, each one edging her slightly backwards but otherwise having no effect whatsoever.

"Pathetic! You can have a million of those things, but it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference!" Darcy said, laughing as she raised her clenched fist in front of her, showing off her Gloomix. "Haven't you realised yet? This is my turf, and this combined with LD's new power means that I have one hell of a home field advantage! Allow me to demonstrate!"

With that, she raised her hands above her head and yelled "Screaming Skull attack!". A large skull appeared, glowing a gloomy shade of purple. The girls looked at this skull, and it stared right back at them through its dark, empty sockets.

"Cute, isn't it?" Darcy sneered. "Say Boney, why don't you go and play with the little pixies?"

With that, the skull suddenly shot forwards, its mouth wide open as it screamed a scream that was so chilling, it would set the hairs on the back of a banshee's neck on edge. Without a second thought, Stella planted her sceptre into the ground, and the group were immediately cocooned inside a protective golden bubble. But as powerful as the shield was, it was barely able to withstand the skull's impact as it exploded off it with a loud thud that rattled the walls. A split second after that, Stella's shield shattered.

"Wasn't that fun? Now let's try something different!"

With that Darcy closed her eyes and started to move her hands slowly in the air in front of her, in slow, soft, flowing movements. Fearing the worst, Stella raised a new shield as the group prepared themselves for the witch's new assault.

But Darcy had other plans. She opened her eyes, which had now taken on a purple glow of their own. Stella couldn't help but stare at her. Those hand movements, her glowing eyes - it was trance-like... hypnotic... mesmeric.

"Oh, hiding behind that shield won't help you Stella... not when the enemy is within!"

Stella gasped as Darcy suddenly vanished from view.

"Where did she go?" she cried.

"What are you talking about? She's still there!" Flora replied... but that was not what Stella heard. With a jump, she looked around to see Darcy standing there in front of her within touching distance, right where her friend was... and on her other side too, and behind her. A whole group of Darcys were all around her, surrounding her, closing in menacingly for the kill.

"No!" she yelled as she suddenly fired off a barrage of shots at her 'enemies'. She smiled with satisfaction as each one of her shots hit home, sending the fake Darcys flying.

"Stella, wait! What are you doing?" Flora pleaded as she struggled back to her feet.

"Oh... you want some more, witch?" Stella growled.

"But it's me... Flora!"

"Hey Darcy, I may be blond but I'm not dumb. Do you really expect me to fall for that?" she replied as she hit Flora once again with a shot from her sceptre.

Almost blinded by fear and pain, Flora backed herself against a wall and looked around her. All of her friends were trying desperately to get to their feet, only to be knocked senseless by Stella as she fought her imaginary opponents. And above them, Darcy looked on, her eyes still glowing as she focused in on Stella's mind.

_'I've got to break her link.'_ she thought to herself. _'It's the only way.'_

She shakily stood herself up, just as Stella turned around to face her.

"Oh, you never give up, do you witch?" the Solarian princess snarled. Flora paid her no heed, and instead concentrated on the ground beneath Darcy's feet.

"Venus Gobbler!" she shouted. With a rumble, a large carnivorous plant burst out of the ground, along with a pair of vines that shot up and wrapped themselves around Darcy's leg, dragging her down towards the hungry flower. Frantically, Darcy tried to free herself from its clutches but the vines hung on tight. At the last moment, she had the prescence of mind to split herself into three, and her two clones quickly set to work getting her free, blasting the vines with everything they had.

Flora smiled. Being the sweet-natured soul that she was, it wasn't her intention for Darcy to get gobbled up, but her desperation manouvre did have the desired effect. As Darcy had struggled against the vines, her hold over Stella was broken, and the young princess gave a start as though she had just been woken up from a bad dream. Blinking, she stood in the middle of the group and looked around her to see the others picking themselves up, all of them nervously keeping a very wary eye on her.

"Ummm, what's with you guys?"

"Stella? Are you okay?"

"I could ask you the same thing Flo. What happened to you?" she replied, looking especially puzzled by Flora's rather dishevelled appearance.

Flora smiled. "You did. You thought we were..."

Flora's explanation was quickly halted by a fireball which hit her square in the chest, knocking her to the floor once again. She was soon joined by the others as they too were broadsided by Darcy and her clones. As they were quickly felled by the Darcy trio's sneak attack, the girls would've been forgiven for thinking things couldn't get any worse...

They were wrong.

Right at that very moment, a horrifying sound made itself heard from the central section of the room - it was a blood-curdling scream of pure agony that would haunt them for many days afterwards.

Darcy looked over to her side and laughed. "It sounds like Icy's having almost as fun as me!"

Anyuna, who was closest to the thick wall of ice, crawled over to it and peered through the ice as best she could. Although the ice was so thick, she could just about see a figure laying on the ground, and... red... a lot of red.

"Oh my! That looks like..."

All of a sudden, she was hit by another fireball that threw her many yards backwards.

"Hey! Eyes front pixie - I'm not done with you yet!" Darcy yelled mockingly, her laughter filling the room as she continued to bombard the girls with fireballs... but then something else caught her attention.

It was a butterfly, which fluttered around in front of her before cheekily landing on her nose. She swished it away angrily but it came back, this time accompanied by a few thousand of its friends. Before she knew it, Darcy was completely enveloped by a thick cloud of butterflies, swirling all around her in a multi-coloured mist. The girls looked on in amazement.

"What on Majix...?"

"Like it? I call it my Butterfly Blizzard!" a voice spoke out from behind the swarm. It belonged to a familiar young fairy dressed in a sparkling golden-honey coloured halter-top and slit skirt, who flew a somersault in mid-air before landing in front of them. Flora gasped, half in surprise and half in relief.

"Delphinia!"

"Delphi." her sister replied.

"What are you doing here Delphinia?! It's too dangerous!" Flora cried, placing her hands on Delphi's shoulders.

"Oh, thank you Delphi! Your help is really appreciated Delphi! We couldn't have done it without you Delphi!" Delphi replied sarcastically, obviously hurt by her sister's lack of recognition for her good deed.

"I'm sorry... thank you Delphinia."

"Delphi!"

"But what ARE you doing here?"

"Long story really. I was out in the forest gathering some medicinal herbs for our Potions 101 class with that dishy Professor Palladium - by the way, is he single?"

"No idea, but I really don't think he'd be interested in dating students."

"Never mind - maybe I'll stick to eyeing up Red Fountain boys instead. Anyway, I was picking herbs when I heard this really loud BOOM in the distance - I mean, really, REALLY loud. So I flew up above the treeline and I could see this huge cloud of smoke miles away in the distance. I haven't seen any excitement since I came here so I thought I'd take a look, just for a laugh. Halfway there, I could see this huge ball of flame - it was massive it was."

"Oh, that sounds like the Ifrit's dome of fire, doesn't it?" Stella interrupted.

"Ifrit? What's that?"

"Really nasty, that's what. I hope you never get to see it." Stella answered. "So anyway, carry on."

"Well, I was about a mile away when this ship showed up and the fire just... disappeared. But the ship flew off before I could reach it and it came here, so I followed it. Then I heard a whole load of screaming coming from in here, so I squeezed myself in through that window." she explained, pointing at the thin openings in the wall. "I gotta say sis, you really do pick some strange places to hang out. What're you doing here, anyway?"

"We were just..."

"These stupid pixies are here on a mission to rescue their little friend - but it ain't gonna happen!" Darcy yelled out from within the cloud of butterflies that still swarmed around her. From her tone of voice, it seemed she was seething at this irritation. Suddenly, a magenta glow could be seen growing within the cloud, expanding until it enveloped the swarm before fading away into nothingness.

Delphi looked on sadly. "My butterflies!"

"They're not the only thing that'll be obliterated!" Darcy chuckled. "And seeing as you're so annoying, I think you'll be next!"

"You're not touching my sister." Flora said bravely as she stood in front of her.

"What, and you're gonna stop me?"

"Yes. You see, my sister has given me a rather good idea for getting you out of the way. Valerian Root!" (2)

At Flora's command, a single, tendrilly root sprang up out of the ground and coiled itself around Darcy's leg. The witch snorted as she peered down at it.

"What? That's it? You're weaker than I thought!" she said arrogantly as she tried to pull her foot clear. But her confidence was misplaced - as she tried to pull her foot up, a feeling of light-headedness suddenly came over her, and she stumbled dizzily, only just able to keep her balance. Confused, she tried once again, but it had the same dizzying effect, and this time she fell.

"Right! That does it!" the witch growled as she raised a glowing hand, ready to strike the root down with a well-placed fireball... but just as she went to release it, it suddenly fizzled out.

"Wow! That thing's draining her powers?" Anyuna asked.

"Yes. It's a little something I worked on over the summer, and Delphinia's..."

"Delphi." her sister cut in.

"...story about gathering medicinal herbs gave me the idea to use it."

"Right. In that case, I think I'll finish the job!" Anyuna said with a twinkle in her eye as she took off and hovered above Darcy's head. "Dream Dust!"

With an elegant wave of her hand, she showered the witch with her sparkling silver sleep powder. "Unpleasant dreams!"

"You... you won't get... away with..." Darcy said groggily, waving her hands in a futile effort to waft the dust away before letting out a loud yawn as she finally succumbed to Anyuna's sleep spell.

"I think we just did!" was Anyuna's cocky reply.

As she landed, she joined in the girls celebrations, giving each other high-fives and congratulatory hugs, but their jubilation was cut short as they remembered what had happened before - that scream - and their attention fell onto the ice wall that separated them from their friends.

"There's gotta be some way of breaking through." Stella said as she pointed her sceptre at the wall.

She let off let off the biggest fireball she could muster, but it just impacted against the wall with a dull 'whumph' and fizzled out. Again she tried, but it was no use - she was having no effect.

"One last time!" she gasped as she prepared herself... but right at that very moment, a loud BOOM shook the ground, taking them off their feet. A few seconds later, large cracks began to appear at the bottom of the wall, spreading upwards and growing larger until finally, the whole thing fell in on itself with a crash.

A few seconds later, the dust had settled, and the girls gasped in horror at the terrible sight that lay before them...

* * *

**1. This is a reference to my third fanfic 'Oh Brother!' where Darcy's brother Kaiser brainwashes Layla into stealing Stella's sceptre so that he can combine it with the Sceptre of Lunaria to create the Celestial Sceptre.**

**2. Valerian - a medicinal herb whose root contains a naturally-occuring tranquiliser. A good remedy for insomnia and anxiety.**


	30. Monster Mash

**Thanks to: Meg (don't worry, I think fanfiction has unbollocksed itself, for now at least), Kira (wait and see my friend) and Spongey (don't worry, the cliffies are almost over... almost), and the 40000 Gasheads who came to Cardiff last weekend (we rule! Such a shame our team doesn't)**

**Random Quote: I'm so gorgeous, there's a six month waiting list for birds to suddenly appear, every time I am near! **(Cat, from Red Dwarf)

* * *

**Just a little side-note before we begin - just like the last time, the events of this chapter are happening similtaneously with the last two.**

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the circular chamber, the boys were also having some problems of their own against the fearsome Ankylocephadon. 

Major problems, of the 'barely-making-a-dent-in-this-thing' variety.

Having seen that the fairies' magic had had no effect on the beast, they had decided to fall back on that favourite tactic - brute force. But no matter how many swipes and swings they took at it, they're weapons were barely registering on the monster's thick bony hide. Coupled with the fact that it wouldn't stay still long enough for the boys to take a clean shot, and it all added up to one frustrating battle.

To add to their woes, running away wasn't an option too - both of the doorways were blocked by rubble felled by the lumbering beast's impacts against the walls, and it jealously guarded the exit through which Tegryn and the girls had narrowly escaped. As far it was concerned, it was bad enough that they got away, and there was no way these boys were going to slip through.

It stood, staring at the six boys who had more-or-less circled it with its blood-red eyes. It surveyed them in turn, each one standing en guarde, weapon drawn, breathing heavily. It was clear they scared of it - after all, they had seen the damage it had done to Bloom's body without even touching her.

As it swivelled its head to look at Jason, who was stood at one end of their line, Brandon suddenly leapt onto its domed back.

"Bro, what are you doing?" Sky yelled.

"Trying a different approach." he shouted as he struggled to keep his footing while searching for any kind of join between the monster's bony plate armour. "We've tried taking wild swipes at this thing - now it's time for a targetted strike!"

With that, he raised his blade above his head with the tip pointing downwards, and thrust it as hard as he could in a stabbing motion... but instead of plunging into the monster's hide, it just glanced off, jarring Brandon's wrists as it did so. He tried again, but with the same result. Growling in frustration, he tried once more, but this time his sword flew out of his hands and he lost his footing, landing in a heap on the floor right under the murderous gaze of the Ankylocephadon.

With a deafening roar, it readed itself up so it stood on its hind legs, before sending his massive front feet crashing back down to the ground with the express purpose of squishing Stella's little snookums. Brandon looked up in terror as the monster's feet bore down on him, then grunted as he was swifted yanked out of the way to safety. Blinking, he looked up to see Helia looking back at him with his laser string glove fully drawn.

"Nice one Helia!"

"No problem." the mild-mannered Specialist replied as he cast a glance at the monster. "It seems obvious that our aggressive tactics aren't working here. We need another different approach."

"But what can we do? We've tried everything, right?"

"I don't know." Sky said as he helped his friend up. "That thing must have a weakness - it must have a soft spot somewhere. Perhaps..."

Sky's musings was quickly broken by Timmy. "A soft spot! That's it. I know exactly what to do!" he said almost excitedly as he pulled out his laser pistol.

"What are you doing?" Sky asked.

"I'm setting this to Concussion Blaster mode." Timmy explained, "But I need to get side-on for this to work."

"Right! One distraction coming up! Here monsty monsty monsty!" Riven yelled as he drew his bolo and struck the creature on the head. Riven's idea went according to plan, and the Ankylocephadon started to approach him with a hungry look in its eyes. Brandon, Sky, Jason and Helia joined their colleague, waving their arms and whooping loudly so that the beast didn't see Timmy skirting over to one side.

Timmy stopped. He was in position, some twenty or thirty yards to the creature's side. Quietly, he took aim... not at the creature itself, but underneath it, at the small gap between its belly and the floor. He squeezed the trigger.

Perfect. The shot was right on target.

Or at least it was until the creature heard the noise from his pistol and turned to face him. The concussion blast impacted on the floor beside the beast, sending it staggering a few yards to the side before it regained its footing. With a loud bellowing roar, the Ankylocephadon charged straight at Timmy, picking up amazing speed for such a bulky beast.

But Timmy didn't budge. There was only time for one more shot and he was determined to take it. Again, he took careful aim and fired.

Success!

The blast shot just below the monster's belly and sent it flying upwards and over onto its back. Timmy leapt out of the way just in time as the beast, now spinning uncontrollably on its hard rounded armour-plated back, shot past him at high speed and straight into a wall. It tried desperately to right itself, but the large spikes which lined its sides prevented it from getting back onto its feet.

"Now's our chance! Get it!" Sky yelled.

"We're on it!" Jason shouted in reply as he brandished his twin katanas and sprinted over to where the monster lay helpless with its legs flailing pathetically in the air, its soft underbelly vulnerable and exposed. Being the quickest of the Specialists, Jason reached the target first. He leapt up onto the creature and plunged the blades deep into its chest. The Ankylocephadon let out a loud unearthly cry as it started to glow a bright white.

"Jase, get away from there!" Riven shouted. Jason did as he was told, withdrawing his weapons and preparing to climb down, but not quickly enough as the monster, in its final death throes, suddenly exploded in a ball of brilliant light. Jason was hurled into the air, and landed unceremoniously in Riven's arms. Naturally, Riven wasted no time in dumping him onto the floor.

As the light quickly died down, a small shape could be seen emerging. It was Kerborg, back to his old bat self and flapping away unsteadily to make his escape... until he was expertly shot down by Timmy. The boys looked on with great satisfaction as Darkar's pet slowly fell to the floor in a gentle shower of black ash. They took a moment or two to reflect on their little victory before Sky got them back on their feet.

"Come on guys, let's go find the others."

They went over to the blocked exit and made short work of the rubble, quickly clearing a path through the debris and into the passageways. They crept along warily, not knowing what nasties might be lurking within.

"Man, I hope the girls are okay." Sky said eventually. The others nodded in agreement, except for Riven.

"I'm not worried."

"What? You're not worried about Charlotte? Don't you love her?"

"Of course I do."

"So why aren't you worried about her?"

"You kidding? If she can kick seven shades of brown out of an indestructible demon, Darkar's gonna be child's play!"

The others didn't dispute it. They would've done, but they didn't get the chance, for right at that very moment, a horrifying sound made itself heard in the distance ahead of them - it was a blood-curdling scream of pure agony that would haunt them for many days afterwards.

"Oh man, I didn't like the sound of that one bit! C'mon, let's hurry."

They ran through the passageways as fast as they could go, but eventually they found their way blocked.

"It's a dead end!"

"Dammit! They must've gone another way!" Riven snarled in frustration.

"No" said Timmy calmly as he examined his wrist-comp. "They're on the other side."

"Right, then we need to get through. Timmy, would you do the honours?"

The others stood back a safe distance while Timmy once again took out his trusty laser pistol. Taking care to aim where the stone blocks appeared to be joined, he fired a volley of shots, then tutted despondantly. All those blasts had left just a few small pockmarks in the door. He took aim once more, but just at that very moment, a loud BOOM from the other side shook the walls of the passageway, sending a sprinkling of light brown dust onto their heads.

"We have to get through, now!" Sky said, his anxiety clear for everyone to see.

"Leave it to me," said Brandon as he stepped forward, pulled a small device from his belt and attached it to the doorway.

"Is that a..."

"A limpet mine? Yes, and it'll blow in about ten seconds time, so I suggest we leg it right NOW!"

They didn't need telling twice as they sprinted back the way they came and hurled themselves to the floor just as the tiny bomb did its thing with a loud bang. After a few seconds, the dust had settled and they stepped through into the room to be greeted by a scene of utter devastation. Large chunks of stone and ice lay all over the place, and the floor on the far side of the room was completely soaked with water. The girls were gathered near the centre, looking at something in shocked silence.

"What happened here?" Sky asked as the boys carefully tip-toed around Darcy, who was curled up fast asleep on the floor and appeared to be sucking her thumb.

Flora, who had been standing at the edge of the group, turned around and, upon seeing Helia, ran over to him and hugged him tight, sobbing.

"Flora? What is it? What's going on?" he asked calmly as he stroked her hair.

"Oh, it's awful. It's... it's..." was all her sweet honeyed voice could manage to say before she broke down into tears.

The others walked on, along the path that Cornelia had cleared through the large chunks of ice, so they could finally see just what it was that had upset Flora so much. Except it wasn't just Flora who was upset. All of the girls wore sullen expressions on their faces, some of them in tears. Eventually, they were able to see for themselves what had happened.

They stopped, and gasped in horror at the terrible sight that lay before them...

* * *

**Gasp! So just what is this terrible sight? I know you're all dying to find out, so don't worry - all will be revealed in the next chapter. I warn you - it ain't pretty. In fact, the next chapter may need to have an M rating.**


	31. Cold As Ice

**Thanks to: Meg, Spongey and Kira, who all seemed to enjoy the thought of Darcy sucking her thumb. **

**BTW - we haven't had Season Three here yet in the UK - we're usually about a year or so behind the rest of the world when it comes to Winx, so I have to make do with the pictures on Michael's Favorites. I'm not doing Charmixes here, cos quite frankly I didn't like the whole Charmix thing. Enchantixes on the other hand are all rather spiffy, and I'll see if I can get them into future storylines.**

**Random Quote: "We threw everything at them. The kitchen sink, golf clubs, emptied the garage and threw it at them. Unfortunately, it was not enough, but at least my garage is tidy" (**Ian Holloway, after Plymouth Argyle's defeat to Watford in the FA Cup quarter-final, 2007)

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**Just like the last time, the events of this chapter are happening similtaneously with the previous three chapters.**

* * *

**_One or two parts of this chapter are a litte bit graphic, so I've given this an M-rating (although it is borderline), just to be on the safe side._**

* * *

In the central section of the newly-divided room, Bloom, Musa, Tegryn and Irma faced up to Icy, who hovered above them with an evil glint in her eye. 

"Oh... a bunch of pixies and a little kindergartener? That's disappointing - I was hoping for more of a challenge." Icy said sarcastically, shaking her head.

"You hear that Teggy? She called you a kindergartener!" Irma said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Why, the cheeky little mare." Tegryn sniggered.

"What's so funny?" Icy growled, visibly displeased with the cheeky banter that was being played out before her.

"Well, this whole situation really." Tegryn replied calmly. "Let's say for a moment that your boss actually succeeds in his little hare-brained scheme. Do you honestly believe that Darkar would share all that power with you three witches?"

Icy's small mouth broke into a wry smile. "I've got news for you Teggy - he's already has given us a share. Care for a taster?"

With that, Icy thrust her hand forward and fired a small volley of ice darts straight at Tegryn. But he didn't budge - instead all he did was thrust his own hand out, and smiled with satisfaction as the darts disappeared into nothingness with a shimmering dark ripple before they could even touch him.

"I wouldn't be so smug if I was you, 'cos you're not the only one here with a power-up. You're forgetting - I have witch's magic in me too, which means I also get stronger down here instead of weaker."

"Hmph! Then let's just see how good you really are!" the ice witch snorted as she unleashed a hail of ice darts in their direction. Once again, Tegryn used his Void Barrier defence, confident that his increased power would be enough to keep it going. But as Icy continued her relentless attack, Tegryn could gradually feel himself weaken, and the strain began to show on his face.

"Hey Tegryn - I could keep this going all day. How about you?" Icy taunted as she upped the tempo.

Tegryn grunted as he struggled to maintain his grip until eventually, the pressure proved too much and one of the ice darts slipped through his defences. He turned his body, trying desperately to avoid it but it zipped across him, ripping an ugly gash on his chest. As he clutched his body in pain, he finally released his hold on the Void Barrier, but thankfully Bloom was on hand to protect her friends with a shield of her own.

"Phew! Nice save, Bloom!" Musa exclaimed as she tended to her fiancé. "Teggy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." he groaned. "Man, those things sting!"

"So what do we do now?" Irma asked. "We can't just sit here and let that witch try and turn us into shish kebabs."

"I've got a plan." Musa replied as she stood up. "Let's just hope she ain't wearing earplugs. Subwoofer Blast!"

As Icy continued her assault, she failed to notice the pair of giant speakers that had suddenly appeared on either side of her. In fact, she didn't notice them until she was deafened by a immense bass note which blasted her in stereo. She clutched her ringing ears in pain and slumped to the floor. At this point, Tegryn stood up and held out his hands - this was just the opening he was looking for. At first nothing happened, but then the ground around Icy began to swell and undulate before she was rocked by a series of loud explosions.

"Wow! Did you just do that?" said Musa in astonishment.

"Just putting those earth magic lessons to good use!" Tegryn replied with a wry grin.

"Oh, Corny'll be so proud of you." said Irma sarcastically.

As the friends enjoyed their little joke, Icy was becoming angrier by the second, and she growled as she picked herself up.

"So you think that's funny do you? Well laugh at this! Avalanche!"

From out of nowhere, a tsunami of snow suddenly engulfed our heroines (and hero), its coldness cutting through them like a knife. With no defence, they were quickly swamped and soon found themselves chest deep in the freezing torrent, and barely able to move.

"Oh man, we're sitting ducks." Musa cried as she shivered - short red dresses aren't really the ideal thing to wear in subzero temperatures.

"You're kidding me, right?" Irma replied. "How can we be sitting ducks when she's just given me a shedload of ammo to play with?"

"Ammo?"

Tegryn clicked his fingers, or at least tried to. "Of course! After all, this is just cold water, right?"

"Bingo!" Irma replied with a smile as with just a wiggle of her finger, she lifted a huge ball of snow from around Tegryn and herself up into the air and hurled it straight at the unsuspecting Icy, hitting her full in the face with a soft 'flumph!'. The group sniggered at the comical sight of Icy buried under her own snow - light-hearted moments like these had been in short supply so far today. Unfortunately, the irate ice witch was about to make sure that merriment was very short-lived. With a look a thunder on her face, she picked herself up once more and shook the snow off the top of her head, although it probably would've melted in no time at all considering the fires of rage that were burning inside her.

"Why you little pipsqueak! I'm through playing - now you've had it! Ice Coffin!"

Irma stared wide-eyed at the ice-blue bolt streaked towards her before instinctely raising her arms up in front of her in self-defence.

"NO!" Tegryn roared as he flung himself through the air, clasping Irma around the stomach and rugby-tackling her to the ground to try and get her out of the way. They landed on top of each other in a sprawled heap on the floor.

"Are you okay Irm?" Tegryn asked as he started to pick himself up.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." she started before gasped in shock and pointing at him. "Teggy! Your leg!"

He looked down to see his left leg encased in a solid block of ice from the knee downwards.

"Oh man. This is no time to be getting cold feet!"

Icy chuckled. "Hmm! Now this IS interesting... and what a perfect opportunity for me to show off my improved powers too. Check THIS out!"

With that she raised a hand, which glowed an eerie shade of pale blue, and slowly rotated her wrist. Tegryn looked on at her, quite unsure what to expect, but he certainly wasn't expecting the faint groaning, grinding noise that suddenly came from his frozen leg. He looked down to see the ice slowly twisting and contorting... and taking his foot along for the ride. He grunted in pain as his ankle all-too-quickly reached its limit, then stopped.

"What's the matter Teggy? No more witty one-liners?"

"Well this is hardly a laughing matter, is it?"

"It certainly won't be for you." she replied with an evil glint in her eye. Tegryn knew instantly what that look meant.

"Hey! Hey, come on now Icy! Please! There's no need for this!" he pleaded, but Icy was having none it. Without saying a word, she made one final violent twisting motion of her hand. Tegryn's breath escaped him in a strangled gasp as, with a snapping of ligiment and sinew, his ankle was violently wrenched from its joint until it was left almost facing backwards away from the rest of his leg. As Tegryn writhed silently in pain, the others looked on aghast, Bloom and Musa in particular. They had known Icy for quite a while and they knew she was evil and wicked to the core, but they had no idea she could be so horribly cruel and sadistic.

"Icy, how could you?" Musa cried as she tried to fight her way through the snow to tend to her fallen love. "What's he ever done to you?"

Ignoring Musa's distress, Icy shook her head and tutted. "I'm very disappointed in you Tegryn. Don't get me wrong, 'cos the whole begging for mercy bit was so sweet, but I was hoping for something more along the lines of an agonised scream!"

"No way!" Tegryn muttered through clenched teeth as he sat himself up and glared at her. "You'll never get that satisfaction from me!"

Icy smiled as she raised both her hands together in front of her, her fists lightly clenched as though she was holding an invisible handlebar.

"Now now, there's no need to be so stubborn. Surely you can... BEND a little on this!" she said as she suddenly snapped the invisible bar with her hands. Tegryn's eyes bulged and he grunted sharply as he felt the ice press unexpectedly hard against the back of his leg. What happened next was something that would haunt Bloom, Irma and Musa for the rest of their lives. At that point, time seemed to stand still and all was silent, save for two sounds...

The sickeningly loud crack of Tegryn's shinbones being snapped clean in half with such brute force, the ice that encased his leg shattered itself into tiny pieces; and the scream of pure excruciating agony that forced its way out of Tegryn's lungs as the jagged shards of bone gouged their way through the skin and ripped through his trouser leg, quickly turning the light grey cotton into a sickly, glistening red.

The three girls stood motionless, staring in horror at the sight of their crippled companion, with the floor around him slowly turning into a crimson puddle. Eventually, Musa regained her senses and rushed over the Tegryn, cradling him in his struggle against the unbearable pain.

"Teggy! Oh Teggy!" she sobbed. He reached instinctively for her, gripping her arm tightly in a vain search for some comfort.

Musa felt so powerless, so utterly, utterly powerless. Her one true love needed her more than ever right now, in his one true moment of need, but what could she do? They say love conquers all, but how could it conquer something as terrible as this?

Irma knelt beside him on his other side, and gently laid her hand on his chest in a trembling, shocked silence, barely able to prevent herself from crying. Bloom remained standing, bending over slightly as she laid a supporting hand on Musa's shoulder whilst looking sadly at Tegryn, doing her best to avoid looking at his leg.

And all through this, Icy's maniacal laughter was filling the room. "Now THAT'S more like it! THAT'S what I wanted to hear!"

That was enough. Bloom had had it with this witch.

"You two stay with Teggy," she said sternly before standing up straight and turning to look at Icy. "She won't get away with this."

Icy snorted as Bloom faced up to her, briefly rubbing her tender side.

"Oh please. How do you expect to beat me, Bloom? You can't even breathe properly!"

Bloom said nothing in reply, instead just glowing brightly with energy as she mustered every last flame of her Dragonfire.

"Very well pixie, if that's the way you want to play it!"

As the battle raged on around them, Musa looked sadly into Tegryn's eyes. They were screwed shut tightly in a grimace, with what seemed like thousands of lines etched into his face, each one telling of the utter torture that he was going through. His breathing was short and shallow, and his face unusually pale. Musa placed her hand tenderly on his cheek, and almost recoiled in horror. His skin was normally so warm and soft, but now it was unbelievably cold and clammy. As she stroked his skin, she could feel him shivering uncontrollably.

She knew exactly what that meant. He was going into shock and clearly losing a lot of blood... and all too quickly.

She had to do something, but she knew there was nothing she could do while Icy was still at large. She looked over her shoulder to see how Bloom was doing. She was just about holding her own for now, but her injury coupled with Icy's increased power and the fairies' growing weakness in this environment meant she was faring badly.

"Irma," Musa said softly.

The young Water Guardian didn't reply. She was lost in her own thoughts as she stared sadly at Tegryn. Just a couple of hours ago, he was happy, joking, laughing, and making her and her friends laugh too - her own goofy Big Irma. She had felt a very real connection between them from their very first meeting outside her school, and in such a short time the two of them had built up such a strong and unique rapport. Seeing him like this pained her immensely.

"Irma!"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry Musa." she said quietly, wiping away the tears that had gathered in the corners of her big blue eyes before they had the chance to start cascading down her pretty young face.

"We've got to help Bloom."

"But.. what about Teggy?"

"The sooner we take out that... that... _**witch**_... the sooner we can help him properly" she said with an angry snarl.

"But what can we do?"

"I've got an idea. Hit Icy with a water jet - give it everything you've got!"

"O-okay... if you're sure" she said shakily as she stood up and took aim. "Water!"

At Irma's command, a powerful jet of water shot forth from her hands and hit Icy, briefly forcing her back.

"Is that all you've got, little girl?" she spluttered as she fought against the current.

"Not yet it ain't!" Musa said as she joined her young friend. "Sonic Boom!" she yelled as she thrust her hands into the stream of water. Musa's shockwave attack was powerful enough on its own, but this time it was amplified by Irma's water jet, and with the jet already centred on Icy, Musa's souped-up attack could hardly miss. The ice witch grunted as she was smashed into the wall behind her, groaning as she slithered down in a most undignified fashion.

"Yes! We did it!" Irma said, trying not to get too over-excited. But her joy didn't last long as Icy flicked open her eyes and shook her sore head.

"Oh, that's it. I'm just not having fun here any more - it's time to finish you off once and for all!"

With that, she raised herself into the air, her arms crossed in front of her as she focused her energies. Flurries of ice-laden air swirled around her as she rose higher and higher. Bloom and Musa tried desperately to shoot her down with their attacks, but they were blocked by a shield that had wrapped itself around Icy. The flurries that surrounded her became denser and denser until suddenly she opened her eyes and raised her hands above her head.

"And now to put you pixies on ice, permanently! Ice Coffin!"

Icy's face was wild with malicious glee as she unleashed her final attack, one that would encase all four of her foes under a thick skin of ice, but that look of glee quickly became one of shock and surprise when something flickered in front of her - it was a shimmering orange bubble that had appeared around her in that very split second. The bolt of magic struck the side of the bubble and, with nowhere else left to go, it rapidly filled the inside with solid ice.

"No! NO! What's happening? You won't get away..." she screamed in rage before she was encased in her own spherical Ice Coffin suspended a good twenty feet up in the air. The girls looked on in amazement.

"Erm, Bloom? Was that you?" Musa asked.

"Nope. I mean, that looked like a Griselda Bubble, but who else knows...?"

They turned around and looked at Tegryn, who was still laid out on the floor, barely conscious, holding one arm up in front of him before letting it flop back down onto the ground. As he did so, the giant ice-ball (complete with extra added Icy) crashed to the floor with a loud BOOM that shook the ground, taking everyone off their feet. Soon, large cracks began to appear at the bottom of the two walls separating them from their friends, spreading upwards and growing larger until finally, they fell in on themselves.

A few seconds later, the dust had settled, and Musa, Bloom and Irma became painfully aware of the others staring in horror at the terrible sight that lay before them...


	32. Advanced Battlefield First Aid 301

**Thanks to: Meg, Spongey and Kira, my Three Musketeerettes (couldn't think of anything better - heh). Hmmm, Musketeerettes? Sounds like a bunch of soldiers from 17th century France who can't stop cursing. Ah well...**

**Random Quote: Well it's perfectly simple. When I asked you to build me a wall I was rather hoping that instead of just dumping the bricks in a pile you might have found time to cement them together... you know, one on top of another, in the traditional fashion. **(Basil Fawlty, from Fawlty Towers)

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The atmosphere in the room, which for the last twenty minutes or so had been the scene for a trio of frenzied, fearsome and devastating battles, was now replaced by an atmosphere of sombre silence. Rocks and chunks of ice lay strewn about the place, with craters and scorch marks littering the floor and walls. And in the middle of the gathered crowd lay Tegryn with his left leg busted wide open and his shinbones peering cruelly at the outside world. He was held lovingly by Musa - she was trying her darndest to hide the fact that she was breaking up inside, but inside she knew she simply had to keep it together, if only for her lover's sake if not her own. 

Irma knelt quietly beside them, barely noticing the fact that the ever-increasing puddle of blood which surrounded Tegryn was now just a few millimetres away from touching her knees. On the other hand, Taranee couldn't bear to look at this scene any longer and so she buried herself into the bosoms of Mimi and Nini, who comforted her in an almost motherly fashion along with Hay Lin and Cornelia. Likewise, Flora clung to Helia for dear life, with Delphi putting her arm around her for support. Many of the others stood around quietly in groups, all barely able to comprehend quite how this could have happened.

Anyuna in particular was particularly distraught at the sight of her dear friend in so much pain and discomfort. Although the initial shock had passed, he was still in a very real world of hurt - in fact, it wasn't just a world of hurt, it was a whole bloody galaxy of the stuff. This was all too much for her - she wasn't prepared to do nothing, there must be something she could do to help. Tentatively, she stepped forward, knelt at his head and signalled for Musa to lift him up.

"Put his head on my lap." Anyuna spoke softly. "I think I can make him a bit more comfortable."

"Why?" Musa asked.

"Look, it's bad enough that this has happened, but I don't want him having to rest his head on this hard floor!" she snapped before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just... I want to try something. If I'm right, I may be able to transfer some of his pain into me."

Musa eyebrows shot upwards at this suggestion, as did most of the others.

"How on Magix can you do that?!"

"Well, I'm able to see into people's dreams and relive those dreams along with them, right?"

"Right... but I don't see how that'll help my Teggy. He's still awake."

"Let's face it Musie, this is a living nightmare for him. The way I see it, it's the same principle." Anyuna paused for a moment, letting her words sink in. "I think it could work. I think I can do this. Please Musie, let me try."

Musa looked at her for a second. She thought this idea was crazy with no chance of working whatsoever, but she was too numb to argue and so she nodded. Gently, she lifted Tegryn's head and shoulders as Anyuna shuffled forward until her thighs were directly underneath him before they lay him down. Anyuna placed a hand on his forehead and looked at him. His eyes were still clamped shut and his face was still locked in a grimace - it was doubtful the fact that he had just been moved had even registered.

Anyuna closed her eyes and concentrated. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but just as everyone was giving up on her plan, her breathing started to become just that little bit quicker and small beads of sweat started to appear on the temples of her head. Suddenly, she grunted and doubled up as though she had just been punched in the stomach, her face screwed up in pain. She let out a little scream as she struggled to maintain her focus on Tegryn, momentarily reaching out to Musa for support before quickly withdrawing her hand and placing it back on Tegryn's forehead.

"Anyuna! Are you...?"

"So... so much. I didn't expect... so much... paiAAAH!" she yelled, arcing her head backwards and screaming up at the ceiling.

"Yuni! Stop it!" Charlotte shouted frantically as she went to pull her away.

"No!" Anyuna replied, holding out her free hand to stop Charlotte in her tracks. Her breathing slowly became slower and easier as finally she was able to get on top of the shared pain. "It's okay Charlotte - I think I'm getting it now. It's... it's okay."

Tegryn's breathing had also become easier, and Anyuna smiled as she sensed it. Her idea was working.

"Thank you Yuni." Musa said with some relief, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"I'm sorry Musa, but he's not out of the woods yet." Prince Sky said in a very serious tone of voice.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Musa replied, turning her head to look at him. Sky nodded down at the ground, towards the small river of blood which was still gushing from his wound.

"His leg. We have to fix it somehow."

"He's right," Timmy said as he scanned the fracture zone with his medi-comp. "A major artery's been ruptured. He's already lost a lot of blood. We need to repair it, and quick."

"Well, why don't you?" Musa asked.

"We can, but not yet. We need to reset the bones first - if we leave resetting the bone until after the artery has been repaired, the artery could rupture again and then we'll be back to where we started."

A short silence fell upon the group.

"Reset the bones?" Musa gulped. "You mean...?"

Timmy nodded. "Manually."

Riven cupped his face in his hands. "Advanced Battlefield First Aid 301 - the one class I was hoping we'd never have to use."

"Well, it looks like we have no choice." Sky said as he knelt down beside Irma on Tegryn's right-hand side and placed his hands under his calf and ankle. "And what's more, you probably have to take the lead. After all, you were the only one to ace that class."

Riven's face paled when he heard this, but he knew full well that Sky was right - unfortunately, he WAS the best man for the job. He knelt down and slit the fabric of Tegryn's trouser to expose the full extent of the injury. The jagged lower ends of his tibia and fibia jutted out in a most grotesque fashion, coated in a shimmering red gloss like the teeth of some savage predator that had just eaten its fill. The upper ends of the two bones were just visible, nestled within the flesh of his lower leg. The skin around them was tattered and shredded in places with an ugly red chasm running a few inches either side of the protuding bones, and rivulets of blood periodically overflowed out of the wound and dripped down the sides of his leg onto the floor.

Riven reached forward and gingerly touched one of the bones before stopping and turning to Tegryn.

"Teggy? Can you hear me?"

After a few anxious seconds, Tegryn made a whispered gasping noise, which Riven took to mean yes.

"Teggy... I'm so sorry about this, but this is really gonna hurt. You ready?" he asked, looking first at Tegryn, who didn't answer, then Anyuna and Musa, who each gave him a nod.

"Please Riven, make it quick. Just get it over and done with." Musa pleaded.

He nodded solemnly, then turned to Sky and Timmy, who stood over them prepared to monitor their progress.

"Do it bro."

Riven took one last deep breath then pressed against one end of the tibia, easing it back into the flesh as gently as he possibly could. Tegryn let out a sharp breath, quickly followed by Anyuna as she bravely continued to channel his pain into herself.

So far, so good.

But things soon became a lot more difficult when the time came to attempt joining the two broken ends. As Riven tried desperately to find the exact right angle to slot the two halves together, Tegryn's body arched up as new waves of pain shot up his spine. Eeven with all the pain he was experiencing, nothing could have prepared him for the sensation of the two bones scraping against each other - it felt like a million nails being scraped down a million blackboards all at once. Anyuna's body stiffened and she screamed as this terrible new sensation threatened to overwhelm the two of them. Instictively, Tegryn pulled Musa towards him and he clung onto her tight.

"It's okay baby, it'll be over soon. Just hang in there." she whispered as soothingly as she could into his ear. But he just couldn't take any more punishment. As he nestled his head into Musa's shoulder, he let out a loud sob as his resistance was finally broken. This was quickly followed by Anyuna, who also burst into tears.

"I can't... take..." she cried, her whole body quivering, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her free hand into a tight fist. Meanwhile, Musa was hugging and carressing Tegryn as hard as she could, just to let him that she was there for him, whilst barely able to stop herself from crying.

'Be strong Musa. Be strong. He needs you to be strong. It'll soon be over. Be strong.'

"It'll be alright baby. I'm here. We're all here. We're gonna get you through this."

"Sorry..." Tegryn whispered in reply as he found just a tiny fragment of inner strength from somewhere. "Shouldn't... cry..."

"Oh Teggy, it doesn't matter. You bawl your eyes out - nobody here will mind."

"Gotta be... a man... your man."

"You'll always be my man... always."

As quickly as the pain had increased a thousand-fold, it soon subsided so that the pure and terrifying agony that had wracked his body had died down to the intense but endorphin-dulled stinging in his leg. Tegryn relaxed, loosening his grip on Musa and resting back into Anyuna's lap, panting. Anyuna herself briefly slumped forward across Musa before sitting herself up straight again.

Finally, the torture was over. Riven had done his job, and done it well. Both of the shinbones were more or less in place, and Timmy set to work repairing the damage to his artery using the small medi-laser he religiously kept in his utility belt - like any good hero, he came prepared for the worst.

"Hey Timmy? Couldn't you use that to repair his leg too?" Bloom asked.

Timmy shook his head. "It wouldn't work on an injury this severe. Perhaps on your broken ribs - those are just bad cracks - but definately not here. This needs specialist medical attention" he answered as he busied himself repairing the gashes in Tegryn's leg until they were fully sealed, before getting Irma to clean it off with a gentle stream of water. "We need to get him back to Alfea, quick."

"No," Tegryn croaked. "Not without our friend."

"Teggy, you can't be serious." Musa protested. "You can't stay with us. You have to go back home."

"Musa..."

"I mean, it's good that you want to help us rescue Will, but how on Magix can you even think about fighting Darkar? You're still hurting bad."

"I'm not..."

Musa looked at Anyuna, who gently shook her head. "Musa's right Teggy. I can still feel it, and believe me, it's gonna take a lot more than an aspirin to fix that. We're talking some major industrial-strength painkillers here."

Through all of this ordeal, Flora had still been holding on to Helia and not daring to look at what had just gone before, but when she heard this she turned and looked at Delphi.

"Painkillers?" she murmured as she wiped her eyes. "Hey Delphinia, I think I know a spell that might help... the one we practised back in high school, but it'll take both of us to make it work."

"It's..." Delphi started before biting her lip - this really wasn't the time or the place to get pedantic over her name. "It's a good idea, if you're thinking what I'm thinking."

Flora nodded, and they walked over together and sat either side of Tegryn. Flora placed a soft hand directly over the injury. Tegryn took a sharp intake of breath and winced - even though the wound was patched up, it was still extremely tender and swollen, and the area all around his calf and shin area was now heavily bruised. Delphi followed suit, placing hers next to her sister before they lay their other hands on either side.

"You ready?"

Delphi nodded. The two of them both closed their eyes and said together "Touch of Feverfew" (1). Their entire bodies glowed a warm shade of yellow, and almost immediately Tegryn could feel the spell's effects. The extreme pain in his leg was quickly replaced by a warm tingling sensation that seemed to wash all the way up his body in pleasant, soothing waves. Tegryn let out a loud sigh of relief - this felt as close to heavenly as he was gonna get, especially when compared to what he was feeling just a minute before.

He opened his eyes, as though he was waking from a deep sleep, and the first thing he saw was his darling Musa. She looked down at him, her beautiful dark eyes still beaded with water but now containing a glint of hope as she glimpsed the return of that old spark of his. He craned his head a bit further up to see Anyuna looking completely drained, smiling tiredly back at him with her hand still placed on his forehead.

"Hello up there." he said to them, mustering the best cheeky grin he could manage.

"How are you feeling babe?" Musa asked.

He looked down at his leg, with a somewhat relieved Flora and Delphi still sat on either side working their magic.

"Oh man... if I had known I was gonna get my leg busted open... I'd never have worn my best trousers." he said wearily.

Musa let out a little giggle and wiped the corner of her eye - her Teggy was back.

"Yeah. Tune won't be happy with you. Who's she gonna have a waltz with now?"

"Viennese Waltz, Musie" he sighed. "It's Viennese."

* * *

**1. Feverfew - a medicinal herb reknowned for its painkilling properties. It's especially useful at treating migraines.**


	33. Thank You For Flying Air Discorda

**Many thanks to: Meg, Kira and Spongey, who once again delight me with their kind comments. Wouldn't it be great if we can get to 100 reviews with this chapter? Just 8 reviews, that's all we need. Come on readers, do your bit! Let us know you're out there!! A special prize (of sorts) goes to number 100!**

**Random Quote: Why is it the world never remembered the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfernschplenden-Schlitter-Crasscrenbon-Fried-Digger-Dangle-Dongle-Dungle-Burstein-von-Knacker-Thrasher-Apple-Banger-Horowitz-Ticolensic-Grander-Knotty-Spelltinkle-Grandlich-Grumblemeyer-Spelterwasser-Kurstlich-Himbleeisen-Bahnwagen-Gutenabend-Bitte-Ein-Nürnburger-Bratwurstle-Gerspurten-mit-Zwei-Macheluber-Hundsfut-Gumberaber-Shoenendanker-Kalbsfleisch-Mittler-Aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm? **(Monty Python's Flying Circus)

* * *

Despite the horrific recent events, spirits had been raised slightly ever since the combined efforts of Riven, Timmy, Anyuna, Flora and Delphi had put Tegryn back on a relatively even keel, although he was still decidedly woozy. He still lay where he was before, his head nestled comfortably in Anyuna's lap, with Musa and Irma in close attendance. His left leg, all three or four pieces of it, was now cleaned and patched up. A web of large and very noticable scars was now adorning the front of his shin, which had taken on a mixture of black, blue and red shades just to let everyone know he was in far from tip-top condition. The patch of ground around him was still stained red, although the blood itself had been washed away thanks to Irma. 

The debate, which up until now had been how to save Tegryn from bleeding to death, had now changed to what should be done with him. Tegryn was still adamant about helping the others, but Musa was having none of it. Just when it looked like a lover's tiff was on the cards, Layla stepped forward.

"Look, guys, whatever we decide to do, we can't move Teggy as he is. His leg's barely holding together - one wrong move and it'll be back to being just as bad as it was."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Sky.

"We need to put it in a cast - and I'm just the girl to do it. Can you guys just roll his trouser leg up a bit?"

Tegryn giggled. "Oh Layla - any excuse to get a better look at my leg!"

Layla blushed slightly at this unexpected remark before she re-composed herself. "Oi! Patients aren't meant to talk... well, not in my hospital anyway!"

As the group laughed at this light-hearted banter, Layla got to work by creating a pink ball out of nothing which rippled gently between her hands. Irma stared wide-eyed at this.

"What is that? It looks like water."

"It is, kinda. It's called Morphix. It's a special fluid that I can mould in pretty much any shape I want... like the leg of a certain mouthy young man!" Irma looked over at Tegryn and smiled somewhat nervously before quickly looking away. Layla continued, "Maybe I can teach you a bit when we're done here."

Irma looked on fascinated as Layla wrapped the ball around Tegryn's knee, then carefully ran her hands down the length of his calf and around his ankle, spreading the cast as she went until she reached the end of his foot, leaving just his toes poking out.

"There!" she said as she allowed it to set rock hard. "That ought to do the trick."

Tegryn peered down at it. "Nice job Layla... but did it have to be pink?"

"I happen to think it looks rather fetching on you!"

They were suddenly interrupted by the familiar high-pitched voice. Tegryn, with his leg and ankle now neatly encased in the cast fashioned by Layla's expertise, looked up to see a very welcome face indeed - a pixie dressed in her usual flambouyant black and purple outfit.

"Discorda!" Musa exclaimed with equal helpings of happiness and surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I must say, it was rather strange. There I was, sipping my afternoon tea and reading the latest edition of Pixie Mode - it had a rather interesting article called 'This Season's Top Ten Must-Haves for Pixie Elders'. It's ever-so-important to keep up to date on fashion issues, don't you think?"

"Wow - a pixie after my own heart!" Cornelia remarked. Discorda looked at her and smiled pleasantly before continuing.

"Anyway, when all of a sudden I felt this terrible pain, like someone was screaming right in my ear. It was like nothing I've ever felt, and as it went on, I just knew it was something to do with Tegryn. That boy has a nasty habit of getting into scrapes, as I'm sure you all know. How did this happen... and more to the point, what are you all doing down here anyway?"

Musa sighed. "It's a long story. You see these guys here?" she said, pointing at Irma, Cornelia, Taranee and Hay Lin. "Well, they're from Earth, and yesterday their friend Will got accidently transported to Alfea. She got hurt and had to spend the night in the infirmary, so Teggy went and found them and brought them here, and we all had a nice little sleepover..."

"Which I wasn't invited to." Tegryn grumbled.

"I wouldn't have thought girly sleepovers would be your thing Tegryn." Discorda chuckled. "The image of you after a makeover is really quite frightening. Carry on."

"Anyway, we took the girls out shopping this morning, and Will got snatched by this big nasty working for Lord Darkar and brought down here, 'cos she's got this ultra-powerful jewel which, surprise surprise, Darkar wants to use to take over the universe. So, we came down here and we got ambushed by our three least favourite witches. Icy did that to Tegryn."

"Speaking of Icy, you're not planning on leaving these three where they are, are you?" Discorda asked, pointing at the witches all lying prone at the other side of the room, with Icy still glaring angrily at them from within her makeshift prison.

"Oh man, she's right!" Bloom gasped. "The moment they wake up they'll be back on our cases, and that's the last thing we need!"

"Don't worry," Tegryn said as he sat himself up with a groan, struggling to steady himself before Anyuna did the honours by placing her hands behind his back. "Thanks Yuni. Right, let's ditch these three!"

Tegryn raised a hand, and three portals opened up in the floor to gobble them up.

"Nice one Teggy!" Anyuna said, giving him a little congratulatory pat on the back. "But where did you send them?"

"Oh, just a few random dimensions, one for each witch." he said as he turned toward the ITCH girls. "It ain't just your friend Cedric who can do random dimensions, you know!"

The twins tittered.

"Yeah, and when it comes to getting lost"  
"...no-one beats our Teggy!"

"Well, that's one problem taken care of," said Tecna, "But that still leaves us with a question - what do we do with Teggy?"

Tegryn sighed "I thought I said I wanted to carry on and find Will."

"And I said you're going back to Alfea." Musa replied, almost in tears. "I'm not having you getting hurt again. I can't stand it! I can't..." she yelled as slowly but surely she broke down. Tegryn held her gently as she wept uncontrollably into his chest. "You big dummy! Don't do this! Please... don't do this."

Tegryn stayed silent for a moment, gently stroking the back of her head to try and calm her down.

"But Musie, I can't go back to Alfea knowing you're still here risking your neck. Besides, how am I supposed to get back? I can't teleport back, and I sure as hell ain't walking."

"Wait a minute... how were you able to teleport those three witches if Darkar's got that portal blocking spell in place?" asked Tecna. "That doesn't make sense."

"Hmmm, I didn't think of that." Tegryn mused, pondering this conundrum. "Maybe Darkar's spell only applies to portals between two points in this one realm - a block on site-to-site transport. Maybe it doesn't apply to interdimensional portals."

"A portal-blocking spell? Well that explains why I couldn't travel all the way here like that." Discorda explained. "I only got as far as a mile from this mountain, then I had to fly the rest of the way here. My wings are knackered!"

Just then, an idea shot into Irma's mind, which up until now had been filled with feelings of worry and guilt. "Hey Teggy, maybe you could go to Heatherfield and then go to Alfea from there."

Tegryn looked deep into her big hopeful eyes, then shook his head. "It's a good idea Irm, but I'm staying with you guys and that's that. Will's my friend too you know - we're all in this together!"

"But Teggy..." Musa pleaded.

"Now now dear." Discorda cut in. "I'm sure you know more than anyone just how stubborn Tegryn can be. Remember when we tried to get him to wear anything that was in the slightest bit interesting?"

"Excuse me Dizzy, I'm right here you know!" Tegryn spluttered.

Discorda gave another one of her pleasant pixie smiles. "The point is, once Tegryn has decided on something, it'll take a hell of a lot to talk him out of it, and from you've told me, time isn't on our side."

"Great, so that's decided then - I'm coming with you guys!" Tegryn said triumphantly.

"Uh-huh? And how you plan on getting around?" asked Musa.

"I could... ummm... hey! Maybe you could carry me! I've given you plenty of piggy-backs in the past, so it's about time you repaid me!" he said, grinning cheekily. "Or failing that, Layla could make me a crutch."

"I have a much better idea." Discorda replied. "Tegryn, have you learned how to fly properly yet?"

"Not really, no. I've never been able to figure it out, so I cheat. I just cast a telekinesis spell on myself."

"Well it's about time you learnt. It's not really the ideal setting for a crash course, but..."

"Aw man. Did you really have to say _crash_ course?" Tegryn quipped. Discorda tutted quietly to herself, then carried on.

"...but we don't have much of a choice. Girls, could you help him up please?"

Musa and Anyuna obliged by taking an arm each and carefully hoisting him to his one remaining good foot. When he was more or less steady, Discorda flew behind him and stood on his shoulders, grabbing small tufts of his hair - she looked like a small extravagently-dressed child riding a particularly handsome donkey on the beach.

"Okay Tegryn, are you ready?"

Tegryn nodded, almost causing Discorda to lose her footing.

"You could've just said yes, you know!" she shouted as she just about kept her grip. "Now then, flying should be quite simple for you. All you need to do is focus your mind and let the energy inside you carry you along - and don't even think about flapping your arms."

Tegryn closed his eyes, breathed in deeply and allowed Discorda to guide him. He could soon feel the energies within him flowing in a way he had never felt before - it felt like they were pulling him in a forceful but gentle manner, all the while staying completely in his control. Gradually, he could feel himself getting lighter - the load on his good leg was definately shrinking until it was almost non-existant, and he could feel Musa and Anyuna loosening their hold on him.

A little rush of euphoria came over him, and he simply had to open his eyes. He turned and looked over to his left to where he thought Musa would be, but she wasn't there. Neither was Anyuna, nor any of the others.

"Yoo-hoo Teggy! Down here!"

He looked down to see Musa waving coyly up at him. He was a good ten feet off the ground - he was flying, for real! A cheerful grin broke out across his face, a natural reaction to such an amazing sensation. Before, flying had been such an effort. He had often looked up to the fairies, yearning to have wings of his own just so he could experience the ease with which they took to the air. But now, he was able to experience a little of what they took for granted.

"So Tegryn - are you ready to go forwards?" Discorda asked. Tegryn nodded. "Okay, same principle as before, but just concentrate on travelling forwards this time instead of upwards."

Tegryn did as he was told, and with minimal effort he began to sail forwards, slowly at first but gradually picking up speed.

"Good, good. Now turn left."

Tegryn nodded, and promptly turned to his right. Discorda sighed.

"I said left, Tegryn! LEFT!"

"I'm sorry. Got a little carried away there, got a little mixed up."

"Mixed up? That might explain your lousy sense of direction."

"Oh come on, I did that deliberately!"

"Yes Tegryn, of course you did." Discorda replied dryly. "Now, do you want to try turning LEFT this time?"

Tegryn obeyed her instruction and turned left, completing a little figure-of-eight.

"And for the finishing touch!" he said as he suddenly veered upwards into a little loop-de-loop, coming awfully close to crashing into the ceiling.

"Tegryn! Please give me some warning next time you do that! Or better yet, don't do that at all!" Discorda yelled right into his ear.

"Oh dear, it looks like Discorda needs rescuing!" Musa said with a laugh as she took off and fluttered towards her beau. They met up in the centre of the room, and Musa took his hands in her own. For a while, they just stayed where they were, gazing tenderly into each other's eyes before Musa drew herself forward and gently locked her lips onto his. Tegryn let go of her hands, slowly wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pressed her towards him in a loving embrace, an act which seemed to make her wings flutter just that little bit faster. It may have been just a simple kiss and a cuddle, but right now it was one that had never felt so good.

"So Teggy, how do you feel now?" she asked, licking her lips with just a hint of mischief.

"Oh, a little light-headed, but then again, kissing you usually does that to me."

This tender moment was broken by Discorda's gentle prodding.

"Ahem. As sweet as this is, I really think we should get going now, don't you?"

Musa and Tegryn's faces both turned as red as Musa's dress, and they sheepishly rejoined their friends who, after giving the two lovebirds a brief ribbing, continued on their journey. As they entered the passageway leaving the chamber, it would be fair to say that they were all thankful to see the back of that room. But that relief was short-lived. With no warning, Tegryn stopped dead in his tracks and gave a gasp of realisation.

"Teggy? What is it?" Musa asked.

"I've just had the nastiest thought."

"What? Darkar in a bikini?"

Tegryn shuddered. "No sweety, nastier than that. Discorda - you said you were able to feel my pain, right?"

"Yes, I suppose I did. It felt like someone had hit in the shin with a sledgehammer."

"But you and I only have half a bond, right?"

"Right, but I don't understand."

"So if you were able to feel all that with only half a bond, then Polli..."


	34. Fear and Loathing

**Ah well, didn't quite make it to 100 reviews... :)**

**Thanks to: Meg, Spongey and Kira (I'm glad you guys are still enjoying this story), and Bristol Rovers for qualifying for the League Two promotion playoffs - first leg is this Saturday with the return leg next Thursday the 17th of May, which also happens to be a certain fanfic writer's 31st birthday... ahem. It's also Polli's birthday, so any donations of the chocolate variety will be gratefully received!**

**Random Quote: All power corrupts... absolute power is even more fun.** (Simon Travaglia, whoever he is)

* * *

Tegryn's fears were well-founded. 

Back at Alfea, the castle rang out to the strains of Polli bawling her eyes out, making everyone on campus wonder just what on Magix was going on. The poor little thing was screaming at the top of her tiny little lungs whilst not know exactly why - all she knew was that something inimaginably bad had just happened, and so she continued her crying and screaming whilst the other pixies tried everything they could to calm her down.

"Now come on Polli, this is most unladylike." Tune nagged.

"But Tune, she's only a baby!" Chatta replied.

"That's beside the point. One is never to young to learn some decorum! When I was her age, I'd already learnt to drink tea from a cup and saucer."

"Well maybe a cheer will cheer her up!" Chatta said as she struck a pose, complete with a pair of imaginary pom-poms. "Here's a cheer that'll make you jolly, Don't be sad 'cos we love you Polli! Yaaaaay POLLI!"

Polli stopped and looked at her for a moment, then promptly carried on crying. By this time Piff, who had been fast asleep in the corner of the room, had been woken up by all this racket and was now joining in - it was as though the two babies were competing to see who could scream Alfea down to its foundations the quickest. Tune clapped her hands over her ears and screwed her eyes shut.

"I can't stand it, I can't stand it! Will the two of you PLEASE shut up?!"

At first, it seemed as though Tune's polite outburst had been totally ignored, but gradually Polli began to calm down, her loud wailing quickly being replaced by sniffles and sobs.

"Finally," Tune said breathing a sigh of relief. "At last, a bit of calm."

But calm was the last thing on Polli's mind. Although the mind-blasting pain she had been sensing was dying down, she was still deeply upset. There was only one thing on her mind now - she knew that she had to find her bonded companion. She had to find Tegryn, and so she quickly took off and zipped out of the door.

"Wait! Polli! Come back here!" Chatta shouted as they chased her through the vast corridors and into the quad, nearly knocking Miss Faragonda off her feet as she tried to enter the building. Lockette stopped as the principal watched the pixies speed towards the front gate.

"Oooh, I'm sorry about that Miss Faragonda." the pixie squeaked in her timid little voice.

"Just what is going on here Lockette? And just what was making all that noise?"

"It was Polli. She's upset about something but we don't know what and now she's flown off."

"I've got a feeling what this is about. We'll have to catch her then before she does anything silly," Faragonda said as she scoped the courtyard before spying a pair of girls walking their way. "Priscilla! Could you come here please? I have a favour to ask of you."

"Yes Miss Faragonda?" Priscilla asked as she jogged over to her, her long brown hair flowing in the gentle summer breeze. "What is it?"

"Catch that pixie!" Faragonda commanded, jabbing a finger in the direction of the fading trail of sparkles headed towards the main gate.

Priscilla nodded and took off in pursuit of the runaway pixie as fast as her wings could carry her, which was pretty darned fast considering she was the fastest flyer in the school. As hard as she could try to get away, Polli was no match for Priscilla's speed and she quickly caught up with her, gently scooping her up and holding her softly but firmly as she took the baby back to Faragonda.

"Now then Polli, would you like to tell me what's the matter?" Faragonda said in the most soothing manner possible. Polli said nothing - she was too busy trying to break free, but Priscilla kept the baby pixie clutched to her chest.

"It's Tegryn, isn't it? He's badly hurt and you want to get to him. Isn't that right?"

Polli stopped and stared at Faragonda, as did the others, before she burst out crying again.

"Miss Faragonda, how did you know that?" Priscilla asked as she hugged Polli and patted her gently on the back.

"Principal Griffin just told me, and she knows because Discorda told her. She sensed the same thing."

"Wow. Do you think that's true?"

"I have no reason to doubt either of them. Did you pixies know anything about them going to Shadowhaunt?"

"Shadowhaunt?!" Priscilla gasped. "Why would they go there?"

"Exactly. Why?!" the principal replied, looking sternly at the pixies who all gave a nervous little shudder.

"Erm... they all went because Lord Darkar kidnapped Will and they want to rescue her before he steals her power... or something like that." Chatta eventually answered.

"I tried to warn them that they had a statistically low chance of succeeding, but they wouldn't listen." Digit added.

"And they wouldn't even let us join them. I was so looking forward to a good adventure!" Zing said rather sulkily.

"Well it's a good job you didn't go. That place is dangerous enough at the best of times, as all of you should know full well."

"So what can we do now?" Tune asked.

"You won't be doing anything, and neither will any of the remaining girls in Alfea. Professor Saladin is sending a ship here so that myself and Miss Griffin can go there, as for some reason we are unable to teleport ourselves over to Shadowhaunt in the usual manner. He and Codatorta will also be bringing a platoon of his best students to join us on this mission. I just pray we reach them in time before anything else happens."

* * *

Meanwhile in Shadowhaunt, the reunited group was making their way onwards through the dark forboding hallways, leaving the scene of their previous battle far behind them, and good riddance to it too. The fairies had returned to their normal forms to try and conserve what little winx they had left on their seemingly never-ending walk towards their showdown with the Dark Lord of Shadowhaunt himself. Tegryn floated along a few inches off the ground arm-in-arm with Musa, with Charlotte, Anyuna, Mimi and Nini in close attendance. Having his dearest friends near to him was exactly what he needed right now - Musa's pure and undying love, Anyuna's bravery and loyalty, Charlotte's affection, and the twins' infectious sunny demeanor all combined to sooth him no end. 

But despite this closeness and friendship something was bugging him, and surprisingly enough it wasn't his leg. Somehow, and don't ask him how, he could sense a growing negativity from somewhere within the group. He could feel an almost overwhelming tide of... well, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He'd never been able to feel something like this before. He had first felt this odd sensation when Anyuna was helping him to overcome his pain - when she had first begun to share his pain and as the agony and despair threatened to defeat her, he had felt a connection within her. It was only a very small one, barely a spark, but it was there, and since then he had become more aware of whatever negative feelings were around him. Maybe it was this place, this wretched hellhole that was causing this to happen. Whatever the reason, it didn't really bother him that much because it seemed to have one rather fortunate side-effect - it actually made him stronger, as though the dark magic within him was somehow feeding off it.

And right now they were nearby, and in abundance too. He looked around. Bloom and Sky headed the group along with Stella and Brandon, the boys' swords drawn at the ready for anything that could suddenly leap out at them. Likewise, Riven was more than prepared for battle as he kept a close guard on Charlotte - he still felt a duty to protect her, even though her deceptively strong powers would probably be enough to protect him and everyone else too. Just to their right, Cornelia, Hay Lin and Taranee walked close together, clinging onto each other for support as they worried themselves sick about their dear friend and leader.

And that was when he realised - where was Irma?

Frantically, he looked around, darting his head from left to right. He knew she was around somewhere. She was behind them in fact, some way behind, bringing up the rear on her own. Tegryn looked on sadly at her as she shuffled along glumly, her head bowed almost in shame.

"Irma?" he said softly.

She didn't respond - it was as though she was lost in a thousand thoughts, all yammering away inside her head.

"Irma? Are you okay?" he spoke again as he went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She gave a start as her whatever train of thought she was in was broken. The moment Tegryn spoke to her, he could sense her unease, as could everyone else.

"Oh... Teggy. Yeah, I'm okay." she mumbled without looking at him.

"You're not though, are you?" he replied. "Come on - whats bugging you?"

Irma sighed despondantly, looking up at him briefly before drooping her head once more and shutting her eyes.

"Tegryn... this is all my fault," she said, letting a tear fall to the ground with a tiny splat.

"What is?"

"Your leg. It got broken because of me. I'm to blame."

"Nonsense, it wasn't..."

"Icy hit you because you were saving me. You shouldn't have had to do that for me, I should've dodged it myself, and now..."

"...and now my leg's broken, sure. But I'd rather have both my legs shattered than have a friend frozen to death, especially one as dear to me as you."

Irma stared up at him almost in disbelief when he said this, before quickly averting her gaze and looking once again at the floor.

"Are you serious?"

Tegryn nodded as he cupped his hand under her chin and gently tilted her head upwards so that she was once again looking straight at him.

"Look, none as this is your fault, okay? You weren't the one who got my leg trapped in ice. You're not to blame, okay?"

"But I..."

"You want someone to blame? Blame Darkar. It's HIS fault we got dragged down here in the first place, not yours. If it wasn't for him, none of this would've happened, now would it?"

"I don't know..."

"Would it?" Tegryn said rather sternly, causing Irma's eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

"No... it wouldn't." she said eventually as she realised just what he meant. She had worried herself sick that Tegryn would hate her for what happened to him, so the fact that he didn't blame her in the slightest caused a small smile of relief to break out across her features. Tegryn couldn't help but feel happy at this sight - a grin definately suited her pretty young face much better than a grimace. "Tall dark and ugly's gonna get what's coming to him, right Big Irma?"

"That's right," Tegryn chuckled. "We're gonna give him the twatting (1) he deserves, all of us together. Come on!"

With that he put his arm around her, a gesture she was only too happy to return, and together they rejoined the group as they continued on their way.

* * *

"Heh! I guess things aren't going the way you want," Will said with some degree of effort. 

Up until then, she had been forced to watch every single event as they were played out in front of her and it frustrated her no end to be so powerless and unable to help in any way. She wouldn't be afraid to admit that she felt more than a tinge of sadness when Tegryn was subjected to that gruesome injury, and Darkar had taken particular delight in replaying that moment over and over again like some immature little child who constantly rewinds a video tape just so he can annoy his family by watching his favourite part many times over. Perhaps Darkar had hoped that this painful image would somehow weaken her resistance to his magic, but she had stood firm and seeing that little pep talk had lifted her spirits.

"SILENCE, WHELP!" Darkar roared as he thrust out a hand in her direction. The glowing green field that had enveloped Will suddenly grew brighter, causing her to grimace as she was forced to double her efforts to keep it at bay. She knew she had to stop herself falling under his control, but as great as the Heart of Kandrakar was, she didn't know just how long she could hold out. If only her friends would hurry up and spring her from this prison.

Darkar paced up and down, growling heavily with frustration. The manner in which this ragtag bunch of fairies and earthlings had managed to defeat his four minions irked him big time...

FOUR minions.

Darkar grinned wickedly. He had been so preoccupied about the fate of the Trix that he had forgotten about his newest recruit.

"It's time I reintroduced your friends to an old pal Miss Vandom... and I think a slight boost in power is in order too..."

* * *

**1. Twat (verb): to hit or strike hard - _He was annoying me, so I twatted him._**


	35. Divided We Stand

**w00t!! 100 reviews!! AND Bristol Rovers won their playoff final!! Double w0000t! All is cool in the land of Nisa!**

**Thanks to: Meg, Spongey, Kira, Kakure and Starlit Phantomess for bringing this story's reviews to the century-mark. Nice one guys, you rule!!**

**Dedication: This chapter goes out to Sam and Amanda, a pair of identical twins who are competing in the 8th series of Big Brother which started here in the UK yesterday (30th May 2007). They're bubbly, chirpy, cute and have a habit of finishing each other's sentences - in other words, they're my own Starz twins Mimi and Nini, but dressed in pink!! Go Melody Sistas!**

**Random Quote: "Oh my god! Can you believe all the pinkness?"** (Sam commenting on the colourfulness of the new Big Brother house... or was it Amanda?)

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"Leg it!!!" 

Our heroes and heroines sprinted and flew through the many-forked corridors deep within the centre of Shadowhaunt, all of them cursing their luck.

Just a few minutes before, they had reached what they thought would be the end of their journey - a large, imposing wooden double door. Up until then, Taranee's face had been a picture of glumness but as they approached it, the young fire guardian's face became a whole lot brighter as a huge smile appeared.

"She's here - I can feel it!" she beamed, doing her best to contain her elation.

"Who? Will?" Mimi replied as she and Nini continued walking together with her in the middle of a three-way embrace. The twins had developed something of a close bond with Taranee - it was kind of a big sister thing, they would later say.

"Uh huh," Taranee nodded. "She's in that room."

"Finally. Come on then, let's get her and get out of here!" Cornelia said as she walked up to the door with the express intention of bulldozing it with a hefty dose of her earth magic.

That was when it hit them. It started softly at first, nothing more than a warm breeze that appeared out of nowhere, but it quickly became hotter and hotter until the air in front of them burst into an intense flame of bright orange. The lads and lasses had no choice but to take a step back and as they did so, a familiar figure began to materialise in front of them.

"Oh man," Stella groaned as the figure became clearer. "It can't be!"

But it was.

It was the Ifrit, and it stood towering above them with a myriad of ugly burns running this way and that all across his body, his arms crossed, glaring down at Charlotte in particular.

"Nahriina! You'll pay for what you did to me!"

Charlotte bravely stepped forward.

"Be careful, babe." Riven whispered. "Something ain't right here."

"Don't worry honey - I'm gonna take this bozo out once and for all!" she said to him before turning her attention to her supernatural foe. "So... want me to give you more of the same, do you?"

The Ifrit gave a cold dark chuckle. "By all means, please do!"

Charlotte paused for a split second. Why would the Ifrit say that, of all things? For someone who knows that her magic would hurt him like hell, he seemed mighty confident - could Riven be right about this? Or was this... this ithing/i just trying to psyche her out? She shook her head to clear these unwelcome nagging doubts from her mind before launching into an attack, firing off a fearsome volley of fireballs at the Ifrit.

"No way!" she cried as they just thudded off him - they made him stagger a little, but apart from that they had no effect on him. The Ifrit just stood there and laughed.

"Come on Nahriina, surely you can do better than that!"

Riven dashed forward and took Charlotte's hand.

"It's this place - it's weakened you."

Charlotte shook her head. "I don't think so. That attack was as strong as it always is. There's something else."

She was interrupted by the gloating Ifrit.

"Come on little girl - I'll be kind and give you another free shot."

Charlotte glared at him before taking off and mustering all her strength.

"Nahri Flamethrower!" she yelled as she unleashed what could only be described as a tidal wave of fire which quickly enveloped the Ifrit. She kept her attack going for as long as she could before falling to the ground in a daze, collapsing gratefully into Riven's muscular arms.

"Baby! Are you okay?" Riven yelled.

Charlotte blinked and shook her head once more before standing bold upright.

"Did I get him?"

The answer, sadly, was no. The Ifrit, all twenty feet of it's demonic figure, stood defiantly in front of them as if nothing had happened.

"Pathetic! Now it's my turn." he sneered.

"Bring it on. You still can't hurt me!" Charlotte shouted equally defiantly as she marched forward to meet him.

"Charlotte! No! He's too strong!" Riven shouted as he tried to stop her.

"What?" she replied, staring at the Ifrit in shock as he unleashed a huge fireball in her direction. Instinctively she raised her arms in self-defence, expecting it to bounce off her or even pass through her, just like his previous attacks had done - but not this one. It slammed into her with the force of a thousand rockets, sending her flying backwards. She cried in pain as she looked at her arms, which were covered in a fearful mixture of bruises and smouldering burns. Whimpering, the injured fire fairy tried to pick herself before swooning back to the ground in the mess of tattered cloth which her dress had been reduced to.

"Heh. You poor little child - it looks like you found out a little too late!" the Ifrit laughed at the sight of his hated enemy laid out before him.

Riven growled at this cruel mocking. "You'll pay for that, you monster!"

"Really? Well mind your heads as you go!"

At this point, the Ifrit leapt up and aimed an uppercut directly at the ceiling. With a loud rumble, large cracks instantly appeared and ran directly over the heads of our heroes, sending a shower of rocks onto them.

"We gotta get out of here!" Tegryn yelled.

"No! I'm not letting that git get away with what he did to Charlotte!" Riven replied angrily.

"Not here!" Tegryn said as he looked at the rapidly crumbling tunnel. "If we try and fight him in such a cramped space, he'll cream us in no time. We have to lead him back to... _that_ room. Come on - leg it!"

And so they took flight, going as fast as they could with the Ifrit marching behind them, sending the occasional fireball their way just to remind them he was still on their case and that they should keep on running.

Riven, who was carrying Charlotte on his back just like the hero he was training to be, glanced back over his shoulder at the Ifrit.

"Why is he just walking? I thought he wanted to catch us."

"He could catch us any time he wants - the Ifrit can transport themselves in the blink of an eye." Tegryn replied.

"So what's he up to?"

"He's either toying with us, or he's herding us somewhere. I dread to think which."

Tegryn's suspicions were soon answered as they approached a fork in the tunnel that they had passed shortly after leaving the scene of their previous battle.

"That's as far as you go, insects!" the Ifrit yelled as he slammed a fist into the ground, sending a tremor into the group which took them clean off their feet. Seeing them trying to pick themselves up, the Ifrit smiled a smile of immense self-satisfaction (or at least he would have done if he had a mouth). These pixies were lined up perfectly for him. Taking careful aim, he sent a brightly-glowing fist slamming once more into the ground, sending a wave of intense fire screaming towards them along the floor. In a panic, they threw themselves to each side as the wall of flame reached the centre of the fork and stopped. The Ifrit's little ploy had worked - the group of brave young fleshlings were now neatly divided in half, and now all he had to do was to pick which half to take out first. His eyes were immediately drawn to group on the left, where Riven stood holding up his half-conscious Charlotte, alongside Bloom, Sky, Layla, Jason, Nini, Musa, Tegryn and the remaining WITCH girls.

Perfect.

The Ifrit leapt up and aimed another thunderous uppercut straight into the ceiling above him. A large crack snaked its way towards the left-hand side, leaving a shower of rocks in its wake as it bore down on the group. Desperately they sprinted away to avoid getting crushed but just as they were getting clear, a small rock fell in front of Irma, causing her to trip and land heavily.

"Teggy!" she yelled. Everyone stopped and looked back in terror at her frightened face as it began to disappear in the cascade.

"Irma! No!" Tegryn shouted as he rushed in towards her. Soon, they had both vanished in a deafening cloud of stone and dust. Musa looked on forlornly as the last few pebbles bounced off the pile that had now blocked off the passageway.

"Teggy?" she squeaked, biting her lip. "They... they can't be..."

Hay Lin walked forward and laid her hand on the rock pile, closing her eyes as she listened intently. Pretty soon, a smile appeared on her face.

"I can hear them. They're still in there."

"We gotta get them out!" Musa cried as she began trying to shift the huge boulders before being pulled back by Bloom... and just in time too as she narrowly avoided a mini-rockslide.

"Calm down sweety," she said soothingly. "We don't need you getting buried under that lot."

"That's right." Cornelia said as she thrust her hands outwards. "Let me handle this!"

With barely any effort at all, she began to will the rocks away, sliding them off and laying them down expertly in a neat little pile, until eventually a figure completely smothered in dust could be seen huddled on the floor, with one hand holding Irma tight as she lay curled in a ball beneath him, and the other cradling Discorda almost like a little baby.

"Teggy! You're okay!" Musa cried as she ran forward to him. Upon hearing her sweet dulcet tones, he poked his head up with a sigh of relief.

"Phew!" he exclaimed happily before coughing up a huge cloud of dust. "I'd love to say that was fun but..."

"Cool! How on Magix did you get out of that?" Cornelia asked as she helped to haul him and Irma up.

"Luckily I was able to cast a shield spell around us just in time." he explained in between bear hugs from his beloved. "Irma? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy!" she replied cheekily as she dusted herself off.

"That Lork Darkar has a lot to answer for." Discorda grumbled. "Just look at me. My best outfit - filthy!"

Tegryn chuckled. "Don't worry Dizzy, we'll save a piece of him for you!"

"What, with those rags he wears? No thanks!" the little pixie retorted. "And I've told you before - don't call me Dizzy!"

Tegryn smiled and patted her on the head as they looked through the half-cleared passageway. It was completely empty now, with the other exit blocked off by a wall of flame similar to the one that separated the group in the first place.

"Man I hope the others are okay." he mumbled. "Come on, let's go."

"Shouldn't we try and help them?" Taranee asked.

"Believe me Ranee, I'd love to more than anything, but the longer we spend chasing around this place, the closer Darkar gets to the Heart."

"He's right," Cornelia sighed. "We can't let that happen. The quicker we spring Will out, the more chance we'll have of kicking that thing into the next dimension."

And so they walked off. After the noise of the collapsing tunnel, the area was thankfully silent... except for one little noise. It was a soft sobbing noise, coming from behind them them. They turned around to see Nini standing there with her back to them, staring sadly at the firey barrier.

"Nini? What's wrong?" Musa asked as she joined her.

"Mimi... My sis. She's... she's... alone." she murmured, stifling her sobs as best as she could.

"No she's not babe, she's with the others," Musa said soothingly as she put her arm around her.

"She is. She's my sis. We've never been... separated... before. She's alone!" she wailed as she finally broke down, slumping to the ground in a flood of tears.

"Of course - she's your twin. That means that she's more than a sister to you, isn't she?" Tegryn said as he joined them. She nodded as she looked sadly at him and Musa through her sparkling deep sapphire eyes before once again breaking down, clinging to Tegryn for support.

"Ssssh, ssssh - come on now N." Tegryn said as he hugged her while she bawled into his blood-streaked chest. "You and Mimi'll be back together in no time, I just know it."

"Yeah, not even that creep Darkar and his stupid little cronies can keep you two apart for long. Just you wait and see." Musa added.

Nini quickled wiped her face and looked at them. "You really think so?"

"Uh-huh! We really think so!" they nodded together before looking at each other and giggling childishly.

"Oh man!" Nini said with a smile. "You sure you two ain't twins too?"

With that they rejoined the party, arm in arm, as they made haste towards the doorway that had been denied to them before. As they neared the door, Tegryn suddenly winced in pain and reached for his injured leg.

"Teggy? What's wrong?" Musa asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"Damn it!" he grunted angrily. "It's my leg - I think Flora and Delphi's spell is starting to wear off."

"Already?"

Tegryn nodded. "I guess this was so major, no painkilling spell was gonna last that long." he said, breathing deliberately slowly as he composed himself in a real mind-over-matter moment. "Come on - let's see to these doors."

"Shall we knock?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, I'll knock alright - knock a ruddy great hole in 'em! Rage Blast!" Tegryn yelled as he fired off his trademark blast of pure white energy. Before you could say 'may we come in?', the doors were suddenly nothing more than a pile of splinters. The group waited in a uneasy silence as the smoke cleared before finally they were able to enter into the room. It was large and rounded, surrounded by a row of grand columns. At the far end sat a plinth with an imposing throne sat on top of it, and just behind that stood a very familiar figure indeed, pinned to the wall and surrounded in a dancing green and pink glow.

"Will!" Taranee shouted happily as she dashed blindly forward to her dearest friend, completely oblivious to the danger lurking above her...


	36. Facing The Darkness

**Well, 36 chapters now and the final battle is about to kick off. It looks good in my mind, so I really hope I can do it justice here.**

**Thanks to: my luvverly reviewers, Meg, Spongey, Starlit Phantomess and Kakure.**

**Random Quote: Well, the thing about a black hole - it's main distinguishing feature - is it's black. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour... is black. So how are you supposed to see them?** (Holly, from Red Dwarf)

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"Taranee?" Will said weakly, barely able to open her eyes as she watched the blurred image of her friend racing excitedly towards her... but those hazel eyes of hers were soon wide open as she spied an ominous winged form looming over her. "Taranee... watch it."

"At last - we've got you!" said Taranee.

"No my dear, I think you'll find it's I who has you!" a voice boomed above her head just before she was struck from behind, sending her skidding across the floor and into the wall.

She groggily picked herself up to see what appeared to be a giant falcon landing in front of her, staring evilly at them with glowing red eyes as it morphed into its more familiar humanoid form. The Fire Guardian quailed at this sight as he strode purposefully towards her, his trademark sneer taking pride of place upon his hideously cruel features.

"Well well well, my little Taranee - I'm so glad you managed to make it here in one piece. You're just in time to see your friend become my servant... or perhaps you would prefer me to dispose of you quickly to spare you the torment. You never did tell m..."

His gloating was mercifully cut short as a large fireball thudded into his spiked back, causing him to stumble forward.

"Darkar! You stay the hell away from them!" Bloom yelled, jabbing a finger at him. Darkar turned around to face her, and immediately started to laugh as he looked upon her and her remaining companions.

"Oh my - aren't you a sorry bunch?" he sneered as he inspected the tired and battered troops fanning out around him before turning back to the keeper of the Dragonfire. "Don't tell me Bloom - you've come here in the mistaken belief you can actually defeat me."

"You bet we'll beat you. Haven't you heard? The good guys always win!"

"Not in this fairytale!" the Dark Lord roared as he gathered his awesome powers before unleashing a torrent of dark energy at Bloom. At first she fended it off quite easily, but as she poured more of her own power into fighting it, she quickly began to weaken. The Shadowhaunt effect was still affecting her, and Darkar's face almost lit up with glee as he sensed this... until he was broadsided by a volley of fireballs from Charlotte, followed by a double Bass Blast from Musa and Nini.

As Darkar turned his attention to the others, Taranee smiled - this battle was just the distraction she needed. With no direct threat to her, she attended to Will, who once again was feeling the full strain of keeping Darkar's magic at bay.

"Oh man, how am I gonna do this?" Taranee pondered. "I guess brute force would be a good place to start. Fire!" she shouted as she poured everything she had into blasting the field which surrounded her friend, but despite her best efforts it just remained there, stubbornly intact. She stood there panting hard, before launching once more into a full-on attack.

Once again, no effect. Just the heartbreaking sight of Will giving her all into fighting against this long drawn-out onslaught.

This was too much to bear. With a loud cry, Taranee thrust her hand into the field in a final effort to yank her friend out... but instead she hit a solid barrier which grabbed hold of her instead. She screamed as a tidal wave of pain hit her in a blinding and colourful light show. Desperately, she tried to pull herself out but her hand was held fast and the pain was getting more and more intense until finally, thankfully, mercifully... the force which held her spat her out.

Taranee landed in a heap on the floor, right where Will could see her. Such a terrible sight it was too, the sight of her best friend weakly trying to pick herself up before collasping. Will then looked up to see the battle... or what was left of it. Her friends and the the fairies were faring badly. Darkar was on his home turf, and he was making it count in a big way. With that and his increased power, he was finding it rather easy to brush aside their attacks and one by one they were dropping, either through Darkar's responses or simply through sheer exhaustion.

When he heard Taranee's screams, Darkar turned around and smiled as this sweet sight.

"You foolish little girl! Did you honestly think you could snatch your friend from under my nose?" he gloated as he raised a hand. "Now you will p..."

From out of nowhere, Darkar was struck by a powerful beam of white energy, sending him crashing into the opposite wall with a satisfying crunch. Angrily, he stood up only to be floored once again by another shot, followed by another, then another. Eventually, the barrage stopped and he was able to see who his attacker was.

"Tegryn! Where have you been hiding?"

Tegryn smiled. Musa had insisted he stay on the sidelines because of his leg, but he sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that.

"You're finished Darkar! Let Will go now!"

Darkar chuckled. "I'd never have guessed my former protegИ would grow so impudent."

"ProtegИ? Pffft! I only hung out with your witches for a couple of days... and that was only because I was hypnotised!" (1)

"Yes. It's too bad you won't follow me of your own free will. With our combined power, no-one would dare to oppose us. What do you say Teggy? Any chance of you joining me and Will as we bring order to the universe?"

"Yes" Tegryn answered after a short pause, drawing gasps of shock from around the room, not least of all from Darkar himself. He would never have guessed this young man would be turned so easily.

"Yes, there is a chance of me turning my back on my fiancИe and dearest friends to join you," Tegryn repeated, trying hard not to grin too broadly. "Well actually there's three chances - fat, slim and none whatsoever!"

Darkar's grin suddenly turned into a fierce scowl. "How dare you?! I'll make you pay for that!"

"Yeah? Bring it on, bony!" Tegryn said cracking his knuckles.

"Watch yourself Tegryn," Discorda whispered into his ear as she struggled to keep a foothold on his shoulders. "Don't get too cocky."

"I know, I know," he replied, ducking to avoid a blast from Darkar's outstretched right hand before responding with a Rage Blast of his own. "I know what I'm doing."

Just as he said that, he was struck in the stomach by a blast which had snuck through his defences. He wobbled and clutched at his stomach, winded yet still able to curse under his breath before taking off once again under Discorda's guidance.

"You haven't got what it takes to stop me Tegryn. None of you do. I'm too powerful!" Darkar roared triumphantly.

"Yeah? Well I'll just have to use your power against you."

Darkar looked on rather perplexed as Tegryn held out a hand and seemingly did absolutely nothing. What he didn't know is that Tegryn had opened a portal behind him, correctly guessing that Darkar's rather painful portal-blocking spell was still in effect. With the Dark Lord positioned neatly between him and the portal, the resulting blast had no option but to cannon straight into Darkar's back. Tegryn smiled with satisfaction before opening a portal directly underneath Darkar as he lay sprawled out on the floor. Once again his plan worked, leaving a Darkar-shaped indent in the vast ceiling.

Tegryn gathered his own energies while Darkar picked himself up. The plan was simple - put everything he had into one final blast and send Darkar into kingdom come.

But Darkar had other ideas.

Before Tegryn could fire a shot, Darkar suddenly disappeared from view, before reappearing right in front of him and blasting him straight in the chest at point-blank range. Thankfully, Tegryn was able to erect a shield just in time, but the massive impact of the shot still threw him backwards, and before he could re-compose himself, Darkar sent one shot in his direction... one that would swing the pendulum well and truly in his favour, because it wasn't aimed at Tegryn at all, but at Discorda.

With a tiny yelp, the elder pixie was sent bouncing uncerimoniously across the floor. Meanwhile Tegryn, without her assistance, was quickly grounded, and he winced as he landed heavily on his injured leg. That wince quickly became a scream of pain as the malicious Lord Darkar took a careful aim at Tegryn's new weak spot, and fired.

Darkar's shot was right on target, striking his leg full-on, shattering the cast that protected it and reopening the wound with sadistic ease. Tegryn fell to the floor, whimpering in pain as his leg once again started to seep prescious blood onto the floor.

Darkar smiled. It pleased him greatly to see this cocky young upstart floored in such delightful fashion.

"Time to have a little fun," he said as with one final cruel motion, he picked Tegryn up by his neck and hurled him straight at Musa. He then raised his arms and used his powers to pick his remaining enemies up off the ground and throwing them into the centre of the room together.

"And now, I have you all right where I want you..."

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**1. You remember that bit in my second fanfic 'Back to the Old School' where the witches make Tegryn believe that Musa cheated on him before giving him a suggestion potion and briefly turning him over to their side, right?**


	37. Vicious Circle

**Yes, it's about bloody time I updated, but work has been an absolute nightmare this last month or so! Ah well, mustn't grumble _too_ much.**

**Many thanks as always to those kind peeps that reviewed the last chapter, Spongey and Kira. You gals rule!!**

**Random Quote: Now, I'm off to eat somebody's parents.** (Tyrannosaurus Alan, form the Volvic adverts)

**BTW... you do remember way back in chapter 21 when Teggy rushed back into his room to get something, don't you?**

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With the collection of brave young boys and girls completely at his mercy, any ultra-powerful evil-doer with aspirations of universe-domination could have easily vaporised them without a second thought... but not Lord Darkar. 

Oh no.

He wanted to make them pay for their folly.

He wanted to make them suffer for even thinking that they could stand up to him.

And so, he stood tall in front of them and raised his arms up high, his hands glowing a bright shade of yellow and his eyes glinting in that usual sinister shade of crimson as he surveyed his soon-to-be victims one last time.

"Circle of Despair!" he roared as, with a surge of power, a golden yellow circle suddenly appeared around the group, spewing energy up into the air in a steady stream which arced above their heads, enclosing them in an ethereal dome.

"Oh man, what now?" Riven grumbled as he scrambled to his feet. His question was quickly answered courtesy of a sudden feeling of light-headedness. He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head in an effort to clear it, but the fog that was clouding his mind simply got thicker. And it wasn't just his mind that was going - he could feel his entire body gradually feeling heavier. It was then that he noticed a faint, almost imperceptible glow lifting into the air from his own hands like a ghostly cloud of steam, and it wasn't just him - the same thing was happening to the others slumped around him.

His keen tactical brain soon realised what was happening - this energy dome of Darkar's was sapping their energy. He looked around him - Charlotte was sleeping, and Bloom and Layla weren't far behind. Musa was struggling to keep her eyes open as she cradled Tegryn in her lap, who looked dead to the world save for the occasional grunt as he tried to lift his head, and Sky and the four WITCH girls were all looking decidedly groggy too.

"Gotta get out of this thing" he said as he stumbled forwards, reaching for the edge of the dome. A sudden and very painful jolt soon told him that wasn't a very good idea. Darkar looked on with a deep sense of satisfaction as Riven was flung backwards onto his derriere. This was entertaining, but the best was yet to come. He cast a glance upwards to the top of the dome. As the energy streamed up within its walls, they had collected at the apex in a ball of light that was growing larger and brighter by the second, until suddenly, a torrent of energy was sent crashing back down upon the helpless victims, striking them with painful fingers of lightning.

Ah. Their screams of anguish and despair were music to Darkar's ears.

But apart from inflicting great pain, it was also having an unforeseen effect on one of their number. As the feelings of agony and hopelessness grew, Tegryn felt a sudden boost in his own energy levels. With a struggle, he sat up, ignoring the jolts of energy he was receiving along with everyone else.

"Teggy!" Musa said through gritted teeth. "Are you okay?"

"I... I think so. I don't understand it..."

But deep down inside, he did understand. It was Shadowhaunt itself that was doing this. As a place of pure darkness and evil, it grew stronger from the fear and the pain of any fairy foolish enough to set foot inside its caverns... but Tegryn was no fairy. His own magic was dark in nature, and as such it was at one with the dark energies which inhabited this realm, and as Shadowhaunt fed from the negative emotions of his friends, so did he. He was literally feeding off their pain - here, he was little more than an emotional vampire. It was a thought was disgusted him, yet at the same time it gave him great hope.

Darkar ceased his attack and laughed at the sight of these pathetic defeated do-gooders, before stepping forward to finish them off.

"Darkar! You... stay away from them!"

Darkar spun around. Somehow, Will had found the strength for one last act of defiance.

"So young lady, you still have some fight left in you," Darkar said mockingly as he approached her, "But it'll do you no good. There's nothing that can stop me now. By the end of the day, I'll have pocketed the entire universe!"

Tegryn gasped at this, and at one word in particular.

"Pocket?" he whispered to himself. That one little word had reminded him - just before they left Alfea, he had dashed into his room to collect something. He patted his hip - thankfully it was still there.

"I have an idea," he said softly, trying hard to make sure Darkar didn't hear him.

"What is it?" Musa asked.

"Hopefully, you'll find out soon enough."

He looked over to see how their young Earth friends were doing.

"Taranee? Are you okay?"

She looked over, adjusting her cracked spectacles as she did so.

"Yeah, I think so, but my head isn't feeling too clever right now."

"That's okay. Come over here a minute - I need your help with something."

Taranee did as she was told and crawled over to him. When she was close enough, Tegryn leaned over and started whispering into her ear.

"When I give you the signal, I want you to..."

She listened intently for a second until he was finished.

"But Teggy, if she does that, she'll be..."

"Look, you gotta trust me on this, okay?" Tegryn snapped. "Just do exactly as I say, when I tell you to."

With that, he attempted to stand up before letting out a sharp intake of breath and cursing his stupidity. How on Magix could he have forgotten his leg was knackered up beyond belief?

"Dizzy?" he whispered over to where the pixie sat, looking very woozy indeed. "You up for another flight?"

Saying nothing, she tentatively took off before collapsing to the ground.

"I'm sorry Tegryn." she apologised weakly.

"It's okay. I just hope I can remember enough of your flying lesson."

With that, he brought himself up, trying his best to put the blinding pain in his leg to one side. It was hard work, but the mental discipline he'd learned all those years ago back home in China was really paying off here. And as he prepared to face off against their most dangerous of enemies, Musa looked on helplessly, praying with all the hope she could muster in her heart that he'd somehow get through this without getting hurt even more.

"Darkar!" he barked. "We've got some unfinished business!"

The dark lord looked at him and burst out laughing.

"Are you serious?! You can't even stand! How do you expect to defeat me? You don't have the power."

Tegryn grinned and reached into his pocket. He took out a thick bracelet, dark green in colour, and slipped it onto his left wrist. As it reached past his wrist, the bracelet started to glow, and thin tendrils of green light started to wrap themselves around his forearm. Tegryn breathed in deeply, allowing this new wave of power to wash through him and invigorate his tired and agonised body.

All this time, Darkar stood and stared at him in disbelief.

"A Gloomix? After all this time, you still have the Gloomix that I gave you?" (1)

"Yes. Ironic, isn't it? You've given me all the power I need to take you down!"

"Hmph! Well at least you've made destroying you worthwhile."

Tegryn said nothing as wheeled over to one side, ducking and weaving as Darkar fired off shot after shot in his direction. As the bolts of dark magic whizzed around him, he resisted the temptation to retaliate or erect some sort of shield to protect himself, relying only on his speed to keep him out of trouble. He had something special in mind for Lord Darkar, but even with the extra power that his Gloomix gave him, he knew this attack would use up a lot of his energy, if not all of it. He knew he only had one shot at this, and Darkar had to be in exactly the right position for him to even come close to pulling it off, and so he continued his evasion manoeuvres much to Darkar's frustration.

"Argh! Stop squirming and let me destroy you like a man!"

"What's the matter LD? Can't hit a guy with a broken leg? Pathetic... and you call yourself the Lord of Shadowhaunt... ungh!"

Tegryn's taunting was cut short as one of Darkar's attacks struck him hard on the shoulder, quickly followed by another which finally floored him.

"Damn, that hurt!" Tegryn muttered to himself as he hastily regained his senses. In fact, it more than hurt. He had fallen awkwardly, and now it felt as though his injured leg was screaming blue murder at him, but even so, he couldn't help but grin as he lifted his head up - Darkar was in the perfect position.

It was now or never.

"Okay Taranee, NOW!!" he yelled as loud as his lungs would let him. Darkar quickly looked over in her direction, expecting some sort of sneak attack from a somehow rejuvenated Fire Guardian... but all he saw was her still kneeling on the floor looking the worse for wear.

Tegryn smiled - that was just the distraction he needed. He sat up, closed his eyes and gathered his strength, concentrating on the small crackling ball of black energy which had formed in his hands.

"Dis-Spell!" he yelled as he let loose his secret attack. As it flew towards its target, he all too quickly felt himself becoming very dizzy indeed and his vision became blurred. As he slumped back onto his back painfully close to blacking out, he could just make out his ball of magic flying harmlessly a yard to Darkar's right-hand side.

"Hah! You missed!" Darkar said triumphantly as he strode slowly towards his fallen foe. "And believe me, that's the last mistake you'll ever make!"

With that he raised a foot, ready to squash Tegryn like a helpless bug into the floor... but then something happened. Something that struck him hard in the back and knocked him clean off his feet, and thankfully away from Tegryn. Infuriated, he got up and looked at the source of that attack.

It was Will.

She was free from her bonds, and she looked at Darkar with a wry smile.

"Oh no Darkar, Teggy didn't miss - he was right on target!"

* * *

**1. Yes, Teggy has a Gloomix, as modelled towards the end of Back To The Old School (chapters 27 onwards).**


	38. Darkar vs WITCH

**Phew!!! It's been a while but I finally got my arse in gear and updated! I think there'll be three more chapters after this one, so we're almost there people! This story's been going for almost ten months now. Phew again!**

**As always, I really have to big up by reviewers - Spongey, Meg and Max Overdrive. Thanks for your patience while my work has temporarily taken over my fanfic-writing.**

**Random Quote: Hey...Look at that dust cloud. It's so...poofy! Poof! **(Ty Lee, from Avatar)

* * *

Darkar couldn't believe it. Somehow, Will had escaped his grasp and was now standing right in front of him, looking a little tired from her struggle to retain her free will, but still relieved to be free. 

"But how?! How did you get free?"

Will shook her head and chuckled.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? That 'Dis-Spell' that Teggy cast - it wasn't meant for you, it was meant for me! He used his own dark magic to create a ball of energy that would nullify any magic it came into contact with... and seeing as it was the magic you'd surrounded me with to keep me captive and to try and turn me into your slave... well, here I am!"

Darkar turned and glared at Taranee, who shivered slightly under the gaze of his piercing red eyes.

"And I suppose that shout to you was just a distraction."

"Nope. That shout was for me to send a telepathic signal to Will to suppress all of the Heart of Kandrakar's energy - you'd forgotten me and her had a telepathic link, didn't you? Teggy knew that if he hit Will while she was still using it, all of its power would be gone. And he couldn't risk just shouting to Will because he guessed you would just block his attack if you figured out what he was up to."

"That's right!" Will added. "Your little scheme is over Darkar - you've lost!"

"NEVER!" Darkar suddenly yelled, his body erupting into a dark flame which seemed to make the entire room tremble. "I am Darkar, Lord of Shadowhaunt, holder of the Shadowfire! I am all-powerful and I will not be stopped! I will still rule all, and I'll begin by reducing all of you to ashes... starting with YOU, Tegryn!"

Musa stared wide-eyed in fright as Darkar suddenly turned his attentions to Tegryn, who was slowly beginning to recover from his exertions. Her beloved fiancé was in mortal danger but she was powerless to help. She, along with all the fairies, were still suffering from of Darkar's energy-sapping attack combined with Shadowhaunt's draining effects. Luckily for her, the WITCH girls hadn't been so badly affected - it may have been the fact that Darkar's attack was targetted more to weakening fairies than Earth girls, or it may have been the fact that their leader and dearest friend was free from his clutches. Whatever it was, their confidence had been given a little boost, and that was more than enough.

"Oh no you don't, ugly - Earth!" Cornelia said as she pushed her hands out. The ground in front of her immediately rippled and sped out towards the dark one, gathering pace and increasing in size until he found himself being swept up by a tsumani of stone. Meanwhile, Hay Lin used her own unique skills to create a cushion of air underneath Tegryn to gently bring him back into Musa's grateful arms.

With a growl, Darkar picked himself up to be confronted by the sight of Will holding the Heart of Kandrakar out in front of her.

"You wanted this Darkar, didn't you? Well now you're gonna get it, big time - Guardians Unite!"

"Man, those words are music to my ears right now!" Irma said, joining the others as they were transformed into their Guardian states. As soon as they were ready she turned to Tegryn, whose head was once again nestled comfortably in Musa's lap.

"You did it Teggy! Now lay back and enjoy the show!" she said with a wink.

Tegryn peered at this strange young woman who was now addressing him with such familiarity.

"Who are you?" he asked wearily, hardly able to force the breath out of his mouth.

"What!? It's me - Irma!"

He scoped her body from top to toe and back again, with his forehead furrowed in puzzlement.

"No," he sighed with a shake of his head. "Irma's younger."

She and Musa looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"I don't understand it. Why doesn't he recognise me?"

After a few split seconds, the answer came to Musa. "Oh, of course! He's never seen you transformed before, has he?"

The two girls giggled, but their merriment was cut short by Cornelia.

"Ha-hem! Guys? Bad guy at ten o'clock!" pointing at Darkar.

Tegryn wearily lifted up his arm and looked at his poor battered wristwatch, which hung around his wrist just above his Gloomix.

"Oh good, that gives us..."

Musa quickly clapped her hand over his mouth.

"Please Teggy - no more bad jokes!" she laughed as she looked up at Irma and Cornelia. "Go for it - and give him an extra hard kicking from me, okay?"

And so the five Guardians faced off against Darkar, fanning out to surround him as he glared back at them, one at a time, with his gaze falling upon Will the last.

"So Miss Vandom, do you really think you Earth girls have something your pixie friends don't? What makes you think you can defeat me?"

At this point, Hay Lin yawned loudly.

"What makes you think blah blah blah... jeez, we heard this a million times before." she repeated, mimicking her enemy. "Can't you bad guys think of something original for a change?"

Darkar's only reply was a loud roar of frustration as he let rip with an insanely powerful blast which Hay Lin was barely able to avoid thanks to some nifty flying. She hovered, panting for breath before gasping in horror. She turned to see the blast heading straight for the stricken group of friends. Luckily for them, Nini was alert to the danger and she erected one of her trademark Harmonic Shields just in time.

"Ooopsie! Sorry guys!" Hay Lin called out apologetically.

"Enough playing around - let's finish this creep off quick!" Cornelia yelled as she slammed her palms onto the ground. A filigree of cracks began to fan out from her palms towards Darkar, snaking their way towards him and surrounding his feet. He looked down at them, bemused.

"Hmmmm... I must say I was expecting more from someone as cocky as you." he said mockingly.

Cornelia crossed her arms and huffed. "Hay Lin, shut this creep up, would you?"

"With pleasure," the Air Guardian said with one of her trademark cheeky grins. She spread her arms out by her sides, and within a few seconds she had conjured an almighty tornado which ripped up the broken ground circling the Dark Lord, enveloping him in a choking cloud of dust. Darkar tried deseprately to shield his face, but it was no use - all-powerful he may have been, but he was just as vulnerable as every other mortal being to getting a bit of dust in his eyes.

Will smiled as he raised her hands and summoned her own awesome energies - after everything that Darkar had put her through, this was going to be extra-sweet. When she was certain she had gathered enough energy - a few million Volts should do it, she reckoned - she let loose her attack. As the immense tidal wide of lightning hit the dust cloud, it became fully electrified, striking its hapless victim from every angle with painful jolts.

The Guardians looked on with hugely satisfied looks on their faces as the mini-storm continued at full pelt. Surely there was no way Darkar could fight on after taking such punishment - it might not be enough to destroy him, but at least he'd be disabled long enough for them to get out of this place... but as soon as that thought had left Will's mind, a sudden uneasy feeling overcame her.

Something was wrong.

She stared at the electrified dust cloud. Slowly and almost unnoticed, the intense crackles of energy that skipped around its outskirts faded and were replaced by a dull whitish glow which was emerging in the centre.

"Eh? What's going on?" Taranee said as the glow became brighter and fiercer.

Her question was quickly answered as they suddenly struck down by a quintet of lightning bolts that shot out of the cloud without any warning. The five girls' bodies slumped painfully to the floor, convulsing slightly as the remaining charge dissipated.

As they picked themselves up, Darkar's mocking laughter rang out through the chamber.

"You fools! Did you really think a cheap trick like that could stop me?" he bellowed as he swept away the remnants of the cloud with a waft of his hand. Will fixed him with a glare.

"There's plenty more where that came from. Ready girls?"

On her mark, the Heart suddenly gave off a brief pink glow, sending out soft beams of energy to the others. Then, with no warning whatsoever... they vanished.

At the far end of the room, Musa gave a start when she saw that curious sight.

"They disappeared! Man, don't tell me they've left us."

Bloom peered around the room. Although like the others she couldn't see them, the Dragonfire within her could sense something.

"No. They haven't vanished, they're... invisible!" (1)

"Invisible?!" Musa replied, straining her eyes trying to make out some sort of sign that they were there. She didn't have to look hard - right in the centre of the room, Darkar had suddenly been struck by a barrage of blows from out of nowhere. He tried to defend himself, flailing his arms around and firing magic blasts to try and strike one of them down, but his efforts were useless - the invisible Guardians were simply too fast for him.

"Neat!" Nini said with a grin.

"Yes... but it's not enough." Charlotte said rather glumly. "It'll take more than a shower to take him out. We've gotta help."

"She's right," Bloom added. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. They still need us."

"But what can we do?" Sky asked. "I don't think a full-on attack is going to help."

"Well, there's not much you, Riven and Jason can do here, but there is one thing me and the girls can try. It'll be risky but we have no choice."

"And what's that?"

"Converge our powers and hit him with one major blast."

"But Bloom," Musa protested, "We're all wiped here. We won't have enough strength to even tickle him!"

"I know it seems impossible, but if we all dig deep enough into our souls, I'm sure we can find a way. We've gotta trust in ourselves."

A brief silence fell over the girls as they took in this idea, trying hard to dispel any doubts or fears. Evenutally, Musa took it upon herself to break that silence.

"Okay," she said as she laid Tegryn's head softly onto the ground and stood up. "Let's give this everything we've got."

Bloom, Layla, Charlotte and Nini followed her, joining hands as they stood in a circle.

"Umm, guys?" Charlotte piped up. "Have any of you actually done this before?"

The others looked at her, and an awkward silence fell upon them.

"Ummm... not really, no." came Layla's eventual reply. "But we did do Convergance Theory in Griselda's class at the end of the last semester."

"And hey, there's a first time for everything!" Nini added, obviously trying to keep her spirits up.

"Come on now, we have to concentrate. The others need us." Bloom said grimly, closing her eyes.

The others did the same, closing their eyes and attempting to shut out the battle that was raging around them, breathing deeply almost as one as they dragged up every last morsel of energy in their tired bodies. Soon, their combined efforts were welling up into a small ball of light in the centre of the circle that shone brightly, illuminating the dank dreariness of their surroundings.

"What do you pixies think you're doing?" Darkar yelled as his attention was briefly drawn to the fairies' combined power. He drew his own power and attemped to blast them out of existance - thankfully for them, Will was alert to the danger and was able to erect a force field around Darkar just in time.

"Hey, nice job guys!" Will smiled as she realised what they were doing. "Come on, we've got to buy them time to build up enough energy."

"How about a new pair of shoes for tall dark and ugly here?" Cornelia quipped. With an elegant wave of her hand, the ground around Darkar's feet began to creep up around him until his legs were completely encased in solid stone.

"That'll do nicely! Come on!" Will said as she raced over to the fairies and, praying that their tactics would keep them safe until they could unleash their attack, lay her hands on Bloom's shoulders with the other WITCH girls following suit. The surge in power was almost instantaneous, and the ball of converged power grew larger and brighter until finally it was ready... and not a moment too soon, for at that very moment Darkar broke free from his temporary bonds. With a triumphant yell, he kicked away the remnants of his rocky cocoon and fixed the girls with a murderous stare, only to struck square in the chest by their combined attack.

At first, he was sent reeling, his feet skidding on the rough stone floor of his throne chamber as he was driven backwards, so soon enough he found a foothold and dug in, leaning into the ultra-powerful beam that was threatening to crush him. Half-angered and half-surprised that these schoolchildren could have the strength and audacity to stand up to him, he dug deep into his own power, calling upon his own vastly-increased Shadowfire to resist this onslaught. His body began to glow a deathly shade of deep red, and with a grunt he resisted with all his might. At first he struggled, but all too soon he started to gain some leverage. The pure white light from the girls' Convergance attack was slowly pushed back by the dark red of Darkar's magic - the forces of good and evil were locked together in a gigantic tussle, but there could only be one victor here.

The girls struggled to keep their attack going, their faces were pictures of tremendous strain and effort. They knew that this was a now-or-never moment - if they failed here, they were as good as dead.

"We're... we're losing it!" Layla said through gritted teeth.

"Come on, keep it going - you can do it!" Sky called to them. Like the other boys, he was going through a whole range of emotions - fear at the feet of this most deadly of enemies, frustration that despite his years of training he was little more than a bystander, and a desperate hope that their efforts would not be vain.

The girls dug in hard for last last effort, but they could feel that Darkar had the upper hand. Their magic was wilting fast against his, and a collective feeling of despair and despondancy started to wash over them.

"No... we... can't..." Musa grunted.

At that moment, Tegryn opened his eyes. Just like before, he could sense the feeling of hopelessness and he was damned if he was going to do nothing about it. Even though he was terribly injured and close to slipping into unconciousness thanks to all the blood he had lost, he was still gaining power from the darkness and evil that filled every corner of Shadowhaunt - that combined with his Gloomix gave him all the strength he needed to help. He reached out and placed his hand on the back of Irma's leg, who was standing behind Musa, and started to pour his energy into the collective attack. This sudden feeling of power was felt by everyone - this was it, this was exactly what they needed.

And sure enough, it was. This final contribution was just what they needed to tip the scales in their favour. Darkar's magic was brushed aside and he was overcome by the bright light from these brave and pwoerful youngsters. Once again he tried to stand his ground, but this time he was powerless. The beam struck him on the chest and, in a critical moment, burst straight through his body and out the other side.

Lord Darkar gave out a blood-curdling scream of anguish as the whole room was suddenly filled with a bright white light. Streams of energy gushed out of him and slammed through the roof, disappearing into the darkened skies above. Large cracks started to appear in the domed ceiling or Darkar's throne room, accompanied by an ominous low rumbling that could only mean one thing - the ceiling was about to cave in.

As large chunks of masonry fell all around them, the young heroes huddled together under the protection of Nini's Harmonic Shield, wincing whenever it was struck - even though Nini's power was boosted by Musa, they all knew they had just expended a tremendous amount of energy, which left them fearing that each blow could the one that could shatter their protective roof and crush them into the ground.

Thankfully, the quaking soon subsided. The noise and terror was replaced by an eery dust-filled silence. Not a word was said - everyone was just left there, standing, breathing hard, with just one thought running through their minds... it's over.

Their ordeal was over.

Or was it?

A deep feeling of dread coupled with a menacing chuckle from somewhere in the dusty haze in front of them soon told them it wasn't.

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**1. Although in the cartoons it's only Hay Lin who can become invisible, in the comics Will can make all the Guardians invisible using the Heart.**


	39. Breaking the Connection

**We're well into the home straight now, and it's a Bunch of Fairies leading, closely followed by the Ifrit coming up fast on the rails. Lord Darkar's dropping back but he's still looking dangerous, and Trix has dropped right out of the picture. It's a three horse race here at the Fate of the Universe Stakes, and as we come up to the finish line it's...**

**And once again, it's a big thumbs up to Meg and Spongey who reviewed my last chapter. Please R&R folks!**

**Random Quote: C'mon baby - I'm a mouse in need! **(the mouse, from Fonejacker)

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Whilst Bloom and the others were left cursing their luck and fearing the worst at the hands of Darkar, Stella, Flora, Tecna, Anyuna, Mimi, Mirta, Delphi, Brandon, Helia and Timmy were at that very moment counting their blessings, and then counting them once again because they simply couldn't believe that they were still alive.

It seemed liked an eternity, but it had only been a few short minutes since they had been sprinting for their lives with the monstrous Ifrit following close behind, sending a fireball towards them just to keep them on their toes.

"Man, we can't keep running forever." an exasperated Anyuna shouted.

"Well we can't fight it neither. You saw the way that thing pasted Charlotte." Tecna replied. "It's just too powerful to take head on."

"I don't care how powerful he is," Mimi growled. "If that thing's hurt one hair on my sister's head, I'll rip his head off with my bare hands!"

"Yeah join the queue! Tecna's right though - we can't take him head on, but we do have to get back to the others... and I think I know how!" Anyuna said with a wink.

The others looked at her as she sprinted ahead.

"Hey Yuni, aren't you gonna fill us in?" Stella yelled.

"You'll see when we get to the next room, which should be just around the corner."

Sure enough, despite the panic and mayhem Anyuna's keen mind had indeed remembered there was a room just around the corner. It was a large rectangular room, strewn with rubble, craters and all sorts of battle scars, and towards the centre there was a large blood-red mark on the floor, slightly faded as it had soaked into the stone but still sickening fresh in their memories. Now they all remembered this room - it was the scene of their battle with the Trix, where their dear friend Tegryn had received those awful injuries.

"So what? Are we going to fight him here?" Stella asked.

"Nope," Anyuna replied as she motioned them towards a corner, "We're just going to hide and make it look as though we ran through that door over there."

"Umm... hide where exactly?"

"Just get behind me and don't make a sound." Anyuna replied as she conjured up a ball of energy in her hand and tossed it into the air. "Mirage Ball!"

As the ball reached twenty feet or so in the air, it suddenly exploded into a cloud of pretty little sparks which showered gently down upon them.

"I don't get it. What's happened?" Stella whispered.

"You'll see soon enough. Now shush! It's coming." Anyuna whispered back in hushed tones as the Ifrit's thunderous footsteps grew nearer and louder. It took a great effort for them not to squeal when his frightening form emerged from the doorway. Anxiously, they stood there as he looked around, giving a low grunt of frustration.

Suddenly, he looked in their direction. Brandon instinctively reached for his broadsword, only for Anyuna to grab his arm and signal him to be quiet. He reluctantly did so, and quietly waited, ready for action at a moment's notice along with his Red Fountain colleagues. It was a nervy few seconds as the Ifrit continued looking at them with those eerie glowing amber eyes of his before slowly trudging off towards the door. As his hulking frame disapperared from view, they group breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Phew!" Brandon gasped. "That was too close!"

"I don't get it. Why wasn't he able to see us?" Stella asked.

Anyuna smiled. "Well, why don't you go over there and tell us." she said, pointing in front of them. With a confused shrug of her shoulders, Stella did as she was asked and walked off.

"I still don't understand, why..." she said before turning around and abruptly ending her question. She stared in their direction, frantically looking around. The others had vanished.

"What?! Where are you guys? Where did you disappear to?"

"Over here!" Anyuna giggled. Stella gave a startled gasp and stepped backwards as Anyuna seemingly emerged from out of the wall. "I'm really getting the hang of this Mirage trick!"

"Amazing!" Tecna said, admiring Anyuna's handiwork as it slowly faded from view. "That should buy us the time we need to get back and help the others. Come on!"

After casting a quick glance behind them, the boys and girls crept into the corridor heading back towards the throne room, but they had no further than the first corner when a sudden rush of fire slammed into the wall in front of them, sending showers of rubble flying in all directions.

"Yow! What was that?"

Warily, they peered around the corner, only to be conforted with the answer to Stella's question - it was the Ifrit, standing boldly in front of them with his arms folded.

"That's impossible! We saw you go out the other door!"

"Yes, and I saw that there was no-one hiding in that room. Of course, neither of those visions were real, were they?"

Anyuna sighed. "So you can cast mirages too, huh?"

"I haven't lived for 3000 years without learning a thing or two. Now then - shall we dance? I'll lead!" he roared as he fired off another fireball in their direction, watching with great satisfaction as it cannoned into the wall behind them and started yet another cave-in.

"Quick, back into the room!"

They sprinted back where they came from and hurridly made for the exit on the far side before being halted by a firey gust of wind as the Ifrit materialised in front of them. With they they came in partially blocked, and the Ifrit standing between them and their only other exit, they had nowhere left to run. As the fairies and specialists prepared themselves for battle, the Ifrit addressed Stella.

"Ah yes, you're the one who felt sorry for me because I was outnumbered. Allow me to even the odds!"

With that he raised his arms, and the ground started to shake. He bellowed loudly as a deep crack opened up in front of him.

"Yes! Come forth my dark minions! Come forth!"

On his cue, ten large shadowy figures clambered out and stood silently in a line in front of them. The Ifrit pointed at them.

"Destroy them!"

Without a sound, the shadows rushed our heroes, knocking them to the ground with no effort at all. The three boys quickly stood up, brandishing their weapons in a bid to protect the already weakened fairies as the shadows came around for another pass. With a loud cry, Brandon lept up and swiped his broadsword at the oncoming enemies, who made no attempt to defend themselves.

'Surely this is too easy,' he thought to himself as his blade homed in on one shadow's unprotected neck. His fears were realised when his weapon simply passed through. He gasped in disbelief before he was struck down by a vicious blow. Heavily landing on one knee, he looked one helplessly as Timmy and Helia were overwhelmed thanks to their equally-ineffective weapons.

"Snookums!" Stella cried as she ran over to him.

"I'm alright babe." he said, rubbing his sore cheek before his eyes opened wide in shock. "Look out!" he shouted, pointing at the shadow who had previously floored him.

Stella stood up defiantly, clenching her elegant fists as she readied herself to give this demonic figure a taste of Solaria.

"No-one slaps my man around except me!" she shouted.

"Yeah sugar, thanks for that!"

Stella couldn't help but smile at that retort as she charged herself up. "Solar Blast!" she cried as she unleashed a bolt of magical energy, hoping that it would have some impact on this featureless beast. Unfortunately for her, it didn't - the blast simply passed straight through it, and she had to duck to avoid being struck down once more. As she huddled together with Brandon, she looked on to see how the others were doing - they were doing equally badly.

"None of our attacks are having any effect!" Tecna cried in vain.

Meanwhile, the Ifrit watched on, deeply amused by their pathetic efforts.

"Of course they won't have an effect, you stupid fleshling! Have you ever touched a shadow before?" he gloated, filling the room with his unbelievably deep laughter which shook the floor. "Of course you haven't... but they can touch you!"

The attack carried on mercilessly, with each one of them trying hard to figure a way out of this situation without being knocked to kingdom come. After a while, the answer came to Stella in a flash.

"Shadows? Of course. We can't touch them, but I know something that can!"

She looked over at Anyuna, who just happened to be looking back at her.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the Dream Fairy said with a knowing glint in her beautiful dark eyes.

"Sure am!" Stella replied. "Hey everyone, you'd better cover your eyes - we're about to show just how dazzling Alfea girls can be!"

With that she fluttered up off the ground and drew her arms and legs into her body as she msutered her energies one more time. With a cry of "Summer Sunlight!", her body was immediately enveloped by a glaring yellow-white light, exploding forth as she unleashed her full power.

"Aura Flash!" Anyuna yelled as she followed suit, adding her own illumination to the attack. With the two girls' powers combined, every inch of the chamber was filled with a blinding light, so blinding that even the Ifrit was forced to cover his eyes. After a few seconds, the light subsided and the gang were finally able to open their eyes once again. To their astonishment (not to mention their great relief), their attackers had vanished completely.

"Yep, nothing like a little light to banish a few shadows!" Stella said triumphantly.

However, while they were congratulating themselves on a job well done, the Ifrit was less than happy with the fact that these children had actually managed to defeat his minions. In fact, he was positively livid, and there was one fairy who annoyed him more than the others, even more than the Nahriina. With a snarl that was stright out of hell itself, he lunged forward, drew back his mighty fist and aimed an unstoppable punch at the Solarian princess. With a look of sheer terror on her face, Stella screamed and put her arms up in front of her in a futile effort to shield herself.

She screwed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable bone-crunching blow...

And waited...

And waited...

As the seconds ticked by, she warily opened one eye. Her entire body shuddered as she was greeted with the sight of a dark green fist big enough to crush her body with the tiniest of efforts... and it was just... there, right in front of her, barely a few inches from her pretty little nose.

"Huh?!" was the only thing she could manage to say. It was then that the Ifrit drew himself back up to his full height and started laughing as he pawed at his neck, and it was then that Stella and the others noticed something - the tarnished gold collar that he adorned his neck had vanished.

The room became filled with a slow ominous chuckle.

"Yes, at last! I'm free."

"Free? From what?"

"It was Darkar," Mirta said as she stepped forward somewhat nervously. "Darkar had him enslaved, but now his hold's been broken."

As Mirta spoke, the Ifrit's attention suddenly switched from his own neck to the young witch. Like the others, he had noticed that the Spirit Rod which she now wore almost religiously on her hip was glowing.

"You!" he boomed so loudly, it sent a shiver up her spine, and indeed everyone else's. "You're different from the rest."

Mirta gulped. "Diff... different?"

The Ifrit jabbed a finger at the Spirit Rod. "Make sure you keep hold of that, little one - it's the only reason I'm not slaughtering you right now. In fact, as long as you keep it, you needn't consider me your enemy."

"Um... thanks?" Mirta squeaked, ever mindful of the fact that a year's worth of adrenaline was shooting through her body right now.

"And now, my time has come to gain vengeance on the one who enslaved me." and with that, the Ifrit's body glowed bright orange as though it was consuming itself in flame, burning ever stronger until he had completely disappeared, leaving our young souls standing in that eerily silent space, blinking, wondering just how they had managed to scrape themselves out of that hole. Eventually, it was up to Timmy to break the silence.

"Wait a minute... that thing said Darkar had a hold on him... so if that hold's been broken..."

Tecna's eyes opened up wide. "Then... Darkar's been defeated?"

A collective gasp rose up.

"Well, maybe not defeated, but it could mean the others have done some real damage."

"And now that Ifrit's rushing off to join them! Oh no - we've got to get to them, and fast!"


	40. The Final Push

**Hi everyone! First things first, today (the 30th August) is Spongey's birthday, so a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to her! It also happens to be Charlotte's birthday too.**

**Many thanks to Meg for reviewing the last chapter - you STILL rule!**

**And a big shout out to the twins Sam and Amanda from Big Brother - tomorrow is the last episode, and hopefully they'll win. I'm rooting for ya! w00t!**

**Random Quote: I'm miles from where you are, I lay down on the cold gound. I pray that something picks me up And sets me down in your warm arms **('Set Fire to the Third Bar', by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainright)

* * *

Over in the throne chamber, there was a distinct feeling of 'this just ain't our day'. 

Despite pouring everything they had into one final attack, it seemed as though Lord Darkar was still standing. His snide, sneering laugh rang out, and an unmistakable silhouette started to form in the thick, choking haze of dust that quietly sank through the air. Although their vision was blurred, it seemed as though Darkar had lost the horns, spikes and other additions to his already grotesque body. So far so good... but as Darkar's form became clearer, a feeling of horror and revulsion swept over the group.

"That's impossible!" Bloom blurted out. "We got you straight through the heart!"

Darkar chuckled as he patted the still-smoking hole in his chest. "Sorry dear, I don't have a heart," he gloated. "You know, embracing evil has done me a whole world of good. It's too bad you'll never get to try it for yourself."

He strode forward purposefully, a murderous glint twinkling in his blood red eyes. His plans had been thwarted, his scheme to invade Kandrakar and claim its power for himself had been dashed, and all that extra power he had gained had been relinquished.

There was only one thing on his dark and twisted mind now - these pixies were going to pay, and pay dearly.

His wicked clawed hands crackled with dark energy as he prepared to exterminate this vermin once and for all. After all the problems they had given him before, they were now weak and helpless, slumped on the floor in front of him, totally exhausted by their all-or-nothing efforts.

This was going to be easy... but then his train of thought was disturbed by a rush a firey hot air coming from his right-hand side. He looked around to see the Ifrit swooping towards him, his mighty fist drawn back ready to delivery a sickeningly powerful punch which sent the dark lord crashing into the wall at the far side of the room. Bewildered and enraged, Darkar picked himself up and glared at him.

"I will not suffer this insubordination! How dare you do this to your master!" he blustered.

"Master? Hah! You are no longer my master!"

"No longer your master? You lie!"

"You are inferior to me, and I shall destroy you for daring to enslave me!"

Darkar sniggered. "Really? Well, good luck with that. As the keeper of the Shadowfire, I can never be destroyed!"

"Oh great - now he tells us!" Cornelia muttered under her breath. As the dark pair squared off, our young heroes and heroines looked on, dismayed that their plan hadn't worked, but mightily relieved that they had been given a stay of execution.

"So what do we do now?" Bloom asked as she tried unsuccessfully to stand up before her weary body told her that idea was a no-go.

"Why don't we get out of here?" Layla asked, before realising there was no chance of that happening right now - that last cave-in had blocked off their only exit.

As Darkar and the Ifrit grappled together in front of them, Tegryn opened his eyes and sat himself up with a pained grunt, trying his best to ignore the intense throbbing that was coming from his battered leg.

"This is the chance I've been waiting for." he whispered as he raised his hands together. "Dis-spell!"

At his command, a pitch-black ball of crackling energy flew from his hands and hit the two evil-doers, engulfing them as it nullified their combined magical powers, although they were so caught up in their own private battle they barely noticed - instead of using magical blasts on each other, they simply opted for a good old-fashioned fist-fight. Tegryn smiled a little as he briefly swooned. As Musa caught him and sat him up striaght again, he quickly recomposed himself and focused once again on his targets.

"Now to finish this. Now to get rid of Darkar once and for all."

"How?" Musa asked as she moved herself to support him, embracing him from behind as he sat back into her arms. "He said he can't be destroyed."

"I'll do the next best thing - send him to Limbo, and his friend too."

"What!?" Musa protested. "But Teggy, you can't do that. It'll take too much power. You don't have it in you!"

"I... I can do it!" he replied breathlessly, his body shaking as he struggled to keep his wits about him. "I know I can. I'm stronger down here. This place gives me power. I'll have to draw on every last bit I have, but I can do it!"

"No! You're too weak! You're too hurt! You won't make it! You'll kill yourself!" Musa cried, blinded by the veil of tears that ran down her face. "Please Teggy. Let's just get out of here. You weakened them enough, we'll have time. We'll be safe."

Tegryn shook his head. "No we won't. The effects of my spell won't last long, not on Darkar, not down here. He gains power from this place just as I do, probably more. I have to do this now!"

Musa buried her head into his shoulder and wept uncontrollably. After everything they had been through, after all the hurt they'd endured, the last thing she wanted was for her dear fiancé to sacrifice himself, even if it meant that the entire universe would be safe once again. What was the point of living if it wasn't with him?

Tegryn closed his eyes and placed his hand on hers.

"Trust me Musie, I ain't going nowhere without you. Just you wait and see - by the end of the day, I'll be hugging the living daylights out of you, safe and sound back in Alfea."

Musa drew her arms just that little bit tighter around him and sighed as she lay her cheek against his. Despite the immense warmth of his heart and soul, his skin felt so cold and clammy against hers. He had lost so much blood it was a wonder he was still conscious, let alone alive. It was obvious to her that he was literally running on fumes here, the last dregs of magical energy carrying his poor battered body over the finish line of this most deadly of marathons.

"Okay..." she whispered gently into his ear. "You made me a promise. I expect plenty of hugs from you tonight!"

Tegryn smiled as he heard these words. He looked at the others, who stared back at him solemnly sharing a single thought - they hated with every ounce of their being that their struggle had to come to this ultra-risky manouvre, but reluctantly they knew just as Tegryn did that there was no other option. It was time to get to work.

"Right. First of all I need those two held in place, together. I'll only have one shot at this, and as soon as they see what I've got planned, I don't think they'll want to stay still and take what's coming to them. Corny... will you do the honours?"

"With pleasure!" Cornelia said with a flick of her long golden hair. "Earth!"

There was a low rumble, and a mass of thick vines shot up out of the ground and hungrily wrapped themselves around the unsuspecting pair, squeezing them tight as they held them fast. Knowing that they were still without their magical powers, Darkar and the Ifrit both tried to muscle their way out, using their immense size and physical strength in an attempt to free themselves, but it was no use - Cornelia's vines were too strong.

"Excellent," Tegryn said as he shakily tried to stand himself up on his one good leg. Just like the others though, his body had been sapped and he crashed to the floor. Musa rushed over to pick him up, but he held out his hand to stop her.

"No babe. You have to stay behind me. You all have too. If any of you get caught by this, you'll be stuck in Limbo for ever along with those creeps."

"But Teggy, you can't even stand."

"I'll.. try.." he said, attempting it once again, and failing once again. "Damn it!" he screamed, thumping the floor in disgust - he was so close to ending this battle, and yet so far.

"It's okay Teggy, I've got you!" Hay Lin piped up. From out of nowhere, a spiralling cushion of air caught Tegryn and hoisted him upright, holding him gently a few inches off the ground. "I've got your back now - you just concentrate on nailing Ugly and Uglier over there."

"Here goes nothing!"

Tegryn held his palms flat so that faced each other as though he was gripping an invisible ball, and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he drew on the remnants of Shadowhaunt's dark magic as it flowed through him, concentrating as he tried to pool it all together.

At first nothing happened, but after a few agonising seconds a single spark of dark energy jumped from one hand to the other.

Then another.

Then some more.

Soon, a handful of sparks were dancing at his command, growing more numerous and ever darker as he poured more energy into this desperation move. The sparks started to merge in the centre, forming a vague ball in his hands. Slowly, the ball started to take a more definite shape, and it started to grow - ever so slightly at first, but soon inflating itself.

As it ballooned in size, intense black shadows danced around his body, filling the room with an unnatural darkness which ebbed and flowed almost hypnotically along the walls in pulsating waves. And in all this time, as her darling Tegryn poured everything he had into this attack, Musa clenched her hands together, weeping, praying, hoping against all hope for this to work and for Tegryn to be alright.

At that point, she heard Tegryn let out a scream as, with one mighty effort, the ball suddenly increased in size until it had become wider than his body. He held it aloft, and the gang were finally able to see the true terror of what Tegryn had in store for their enemies. The ball pulsed, filling each and every one of them with fear, and as they looked into it, frightening shapes could be seen swirling around inside it. Contorted faces, unearthly agonised wailing - it was the souls of everyone who had perished at the hands of Lord Darkar. In his evil spite, each and every one of them had been trapped within the walls of Shadowhaunt so that he could feed off their dispair, and now they were willingly giving themselves through Tegryn so that they could finally dispose of their tormenter and rest in peace at last.

Tegryn let out a huge roar. Even though his whole body was screaming in agony, even though every last spark of strength in his body was being used up, he had gathered all the power he needed and now, finally, he was able to unleash it. It bore down on their targets, hungry for revenge as it screamed towards them. Darkar yelled as the ball engulfed him and the Ifrit, sucking them gradually into the oblivion of nothingness that would be their new home for the rest of eternity. His howls of dread and rage got louder as the dark ball got larger and larger, giving off plumes of smoke that swirled around them, filling the room with hushed whispers as they disppeared through the walls and into the night. As the plumes grew thicker and thicker, a tiny and almost inperceptible spark of dark energy shot out from the centre of the room as Darkar finally succumbed to his everlasting fate, striking Tegryn in the stomach completely unnoticed.

Finally, the howls and wails gave way to an empty silence. Black scorch marks stained the floor where Darkar and the Ifrit had once stood.

They were gone.

Thank the heavens. Thank the Dragon. Thank everything that could be thanked.

Lord Darkar and the Ifrit, the two most powerful and terrifying forces that had ever threatened the universe, had gone, left to fight out a neverending battle in a dark and lonely void.

"You did it!" Musa was finally able to whisper as she rushed forward to where he was standing. "Teggy, you did it!"

Tegryn didn't reply. Musa looked at his face. His eyes were closed and his mouth gaped slightly open as his head slumped forwards and his arms hung limply by his sides.

"Teggy?" she whimpered anxiously. "Teggy?!"

The others joined her. Hay Lin slowly released her hold, and Musa carefully caught his limp body, lovingly kneeling him on the ground as she clasped him to her.

"Teggy! Please..." she cried, completely unable to hold her emotions back any more. Despite their victory, Musa's world was crashing down around her. "Teggy, please! You just have to wake up! Please! Don't leave me!"

But it was no use - Tegryn was simply unable to respond to her pleadings. Brave to the core, he had put everything on the line just so she and her friends could live, even though he had already been critically injured. He meant so much to everyone in attendance, but to Musa he was so much more.

He was her friend.

Her soul-mate.

Her lover.

Her husband-to-be.

He had selflessly given himself for her. They had won... but at what cost?

* * *

**Ooh, the mother of all cliffhangers! So what's happened? Find out in the last chapter, coming soon (I hope).**


	41. Recovery, Regrets, Au Revoir, Revenge

**Wooh! Here we are again. It's a fanfare time (of sorts) because this is the last chapter. Yes, this story has finally come to an end!**

**As always, there's a big thanks to those lovely sorts who reviewed the last chapter; Max Overdrive, Meg, Spongey and** **HinataxNarutofan. Love you guys!!!**

**Random Quote: ****I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a concrete elephant.** (Queen Elizabeth I, from Blackadder)

* * *

At that moment, the pile of rubble that was blocking the doorway was dramatically blown apart and the remaining friends ran in, followed by a platoon of Red Fountain students with Saladin, Codatorta, Faragonda and Griffin at their head. A deathly silence immediately fell upon them as they took in the heartbreaking scene in front of them - even the stoic Miss Griffin could not fail to be moved by the sight of poor grief-stricken Musa weeping as she held Tegryn's prone body close to hers, with the others standing forlornly trying their best to comfort her. The young music fairy looked up as Faragonda walked towards her, peering at her kind features through tear-filled eyes. 

"Miss Faragonda.. he's... he's..." she said, her anxiety being ratcheted up with each passing second.

Faragonda placed her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes. After a few short nerve-wracking seconds, she spoke.

"He's alive..."

Musa's breath escaped from her lungs at those two words so fast that she could hardly contain herself - she collapsed in tears, not bothering to hear the rest of the sentence.

"...but barely. We need to get him to Alfea, fast."

With a brisk wave of her hand, she opened up a portal. A group of Specialists gently lifted Tegryn onto a stretcher while Faragonda helped Musa up. As they tiredly trudged the short walk home, Codatorta turned to Saladin.

"It looks like these lads and lasses really made a mess here. Darkar'll be hopping mad when he see this."

Upon hearing this, Musa turned around. Wiping her face and smiling as hard as she could, she said "Darkar won't bother us any more - Teggy's made sure of that."

* * *

The infirmary of the Alfea School for Fairies had never been so busy. Every available seat had been taken up - as had every square inch of bed space - while the girls were given a quick check-up. Thankfully, all Ofelia had to worry about as far as they were concerned was a couple of bruises along with Bloom's broken ribs, which were healing nicely thanks to Timmy's earlier expertise with his medi-laser. 

Her only cause for concern was Tegryn, who had just been laid in what was fast becoming his own personal hospital bed. Musa sat faithfully by his side, laying one hand on his chest and willing him on in his recovery whilst holding Polli with her other as the baby pixie sobbed into her bosom. Irma stood behind her, her hand on her shoulder as she looked silently on. Despite having used every ounce of her medical expertise to reset his leg, which now sat cocooned in plaster, Ofelia gave an uneasy sigh and shook her head as she measured his blood pressure.

"Dangerously low," she muttered. "He's lost so much blood."

"Will he recover?" Faragonda asked.

"Perhaps, but it'll be touch and go," the nurse replied. "What he really needs right now is a blood donation."

Musa's eyes widened when she heard this. "Well what are you waiting for? Hook me up! I'll give as much as he needs. I'll..."

Ofelia held her hand up, stopping Musa in her tracks.

"That wouldn't work Musa - the two of you wouldn't be compatible. You're a fairy; he's not. He needs..." she explained, her voice trailing off as she looked towards the five Earth girls standing at his bedside. Will immediately realised what Ofelia was about to say.

"Hey, we'll only be too happy to help, right?"

The other girls nodded, except Taranee, who looked more than a bit worried.

"That would mean needles, right?" she asked nervously. "I mean, I will do it, but I should warn you, needles and me don't exactly mix... and the less said about me and the sight of blood..."

"Don't worry!" Ofelia interrupted. "I'll just need to take a tiny scratch sample first, just to see if any of you are the correct blood type. Just hold out one finger please."

Taranee did as she was asked, fearfully screwing her eyes shut as Ofelia went about taking a single drop and placing it onto a slide before repeating the procedure with the other four girls and Tegryn. Eventually she opened her eyes, only to find she had already done it. She breathed a little sigh of relief - she hadn't felt a thing.

"Right, I'll just take these into the office for analysis. Meanwhile, we really need to get him cleaned up." she explained, motioning towards Tegryn as he lay in bed still wearing his tattered, torn, bloodied clothes. "I can't keep him in such a state."

She handed Musa a pair of scissors and a bed robe.

"Would you mind removing his clothes and dressing him in this?"

Musa nodded as Ofelia went into her office and sat down at her medical computer. Inserting the first slide, she stared intently at the screen as it spewed forth as much data as it could gather.

"No. Nothing here." she said, removing the first slide and placing a second one into the slot. A smile appeared on her face - the second set of data made for much better reading, but just as she was about to stand up, the computer beeped. Confused, she looked at the screen.

"Hmmm. That can't be right." she mused as she ordered a rescan. The computer beeped once again as it displayed an identical set of data.

"How odd. I wonder why this wasn't mentioned before... unless..."

She stood up and opened her door.

"Miss Irma? Could you come in here please?"

All eyes were immediately fixed onto the Water Guardian. She looked first at Tegryn and then at Musa.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be okay. I'll help him."

Musa immediately stood up and caught her in a hug that the young teen was only too glad to reciprocate.

"Thank you Irma."

As Irma made her way into the nurse's office, Musa set to work. Starting at his left shoulder, where his clothing was particularly torn and sodden, she oh-so-carefully started to cut the fabric away, painstakingly lifting it off his body as though she was afraid she might actually damage him in some way. However, as she peeled away a large piece of his shirt, she suddenly stopped.

"Eh? What is that?" she said as she peered closer.

"Is that... a bandage?" Anyuna asked.

Sure enough, it was a bandage, reaching around his body underneath his arms and covering his chest. Musa grew more and more puzzled as she looked at it.

"Teggy didn't tell me he had an injury."

"What could it be? A burn? A scar?"

Musa shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Whatever it is, it has to come off." she said as she went to remove it, before being stopped by a hand placed gently onto hers.

"No..."

It was Tegryn, breathing weakly and shivering as he squinted up at her. Musa let out a little cry of delight at seeing him awake - after fearing the worst, it felt so good to see him looking at her once again before remembering her task. Once again, she went to peel away the bandage.

"Please..." Tegryn protested, his voice barely more than a pained whisper.

"What? You don't want me to remove this? But why?"

"Don't..."

"But Teggy, I have to. We need to get you cleaned up."

"Stop..."

But his feeble pleas went unheeded as Musa gently laid his hand down by his side and cut away the bandage. She tried her best to ignore Tegryn's moans, assuming them to be from where she was tentatively pulling the strapping away from the matted hairs on his chest. Ever mindful of the pain she knew he was in, she carefully cut it away until finally she was able to lift it off. It was then that she was able to see what Tegryn was hiding - it was a tattoo, showing a pair of golden Chinese dragons intertwined into a heart shape, with a pair of Chinese characters written beneath it.

"Hey, cool tattoo!" a happily reunited Mimi and Nini said in unison.

"I never knew you had a tattoo." Musa said, looking at him with a impish smile on her face. To her dismay, he looked away, almost as though he was too ashamed to look at her.

"Teggy? What's wrong?"

"I... didn't want... you... to see..." he said, trying in vain to cover it up.

"But why?" she said just as a thought rushed its way into her head. She lifted his hand and looked at it again. "Teggy... what does that writing say?"

Tegryn closed his eyes and said nothing.

"Teggy?"

"No..."

"Please Teggy. If it's hurting you so much, you have to tell me. Please."

He turned his head to see her staring back at him with a pleading puppy-dog look on her face. He sighed dejectedly as he reluctantly gave her the answer.

"Pui Yin." he mumbled. "It says... Pui Yin."

"Oh," Musa said, putting her hand to her mouth in surprise - after everything that had happened that day, she certainly wasn't expecting to hear that name. "But... why?"

Tegryn sighed once more. "It's... a custom... in... my village," he murmured.

"A village custom?"

"Oh, that is so romantic!" Amore suddenly blurted out as she took a closer look for herself. "What a beautiful custom! A sign of everlasting affection to his one true love, and right on his heart too!"

Right then, Amore suddenly stopped and gasped as she realised she'd really put her foot in it.

"Oh, but... she's no longer your true love, is she?" she said as she put her tiny hand over the offending item, as though she was trying her best to hide it from Musa.

Musa looked at her, then once again at Tegryn who could barely bring himself to look her in the eye.

"You had this done before you came here, huh? While you and her were still an item?"

Tegryn nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't know any tattoo removal spells, and I was too embarrassed to tell anyone."

"Well I'm sure I can fix this." Amore said softly. "All you have to do is think of your one true love."

Tegryn closed his eyes without saying a thing, and the part of his chest under her hands began to shine a gentle pink glow as the pixie of love worked her magic. After a few short seconds, the glow faded and she raised her hands. The tattoo's writing had changed from a pair of characters to just one.

"What does it say now?" Amore asked.

Tegryn lifted his head and peered down before slumping it back into his pillow with a smile, squeezing Musa's hand as hard as he could, which for all intents and purposes really wasn't that hard.

"Musa..."

As she planted a soft kiss on his forehead, Ofelia emerged from her office together with Irma, who looked decidedly shaken and pale.

"Hey you! I thought it was Taranee who's afraid of needles!" Cornelia quipped.

"No, not at all, she took it all very bravely indeed." Ofelia said as she set up the transfusion. "She just needs a few minutes to rest, and then you girls can be on your way home."

"What? You're leaving already?" Bloom exclaimed.

"'Fraid so. People'll be wondering where we've all got to." Will replied. "I mean, Teggy came up with a good excuse to stall our folks and we left our Astral Drops behind to hold the fort, but they're hardly 100 reliable and if we stay away another night, it's gonna look mighty suspicious. Besides, we've all got school in the morning."

"In that case, just wait there! I'll be back in a minute!" Tecna yelled as she dashed out of the room.

Of course, the girls weren't quite ready to return to Earth just yet, as they hadn't carried out that most important of tasks - signing Tegryn's cast, and so the girls took it in turns to carry out their duty. Being the leader, Will went first. As she went about her business using a pink marker pen kindly donated by Stella, Tegryn craned his neck, desperately trying to see what she had written.

_Teggy  
Sorry for giving you such a headache earlier, and thanks for everything.  
I guess I owe you one! Or two... or three... whatever.  
Anyways, take care and hope to see you soon.  
Will_

He laughed as he read it quietly to himself.

"Will?" he whispered.

"Yes Teggy?"

"Your handwriting's almost as bad as mine!"

A roar of laughter rang up, which was quickly halted by a loud "Shush!" from Ofelia.

"Oh Teggy, there's no way Will's writing's as bad as yours - we can read it for a start! I reckon your eyes need testing!" Stella joked, wiping the tears of laughter from her face. Will chuckled as she playfully ruffled his hair before leaning over to give him a goodbye hug.

"Thanks Teggy."

"Thank you too." came his instant reply.

"Hmm? What for?"

"Well, you kinda taught me a bit about myself. You know, finding my element and stuff."

"Oh, that - it was nothing, really. I'm just glad you're feeling a bit better."

"Yeah, me too." he said while Cornelia carried on the writing task. Her handwriting was pretty much what he expected - neat and girly.

_Hey Teggy  
Keep practicing your earth magic.  
PLEASE, keep practicing!!  
Cornelia_

"Heh! Will do, Corny!" he smiled as he hugged her, followed by Taranee and Hay Lin.

"Hey Teggy, next time you're in town, I'll get my folks to rustle up something special for you!"

"Lookin' forward to it already Hay Lin." he replied.

"Oh, call me Hay-Hay. Everyone else does - well, SHE does anyway!" she said, turning round and looking over at Irma standing behind her. The Water Guardian stood there silently at first, just staring deep into Tegryn's eyes, almost as though she was trying to see something there which no-one could. Eventually, Tegryn lifted up his arms, motioning with his fingers for her to come and cuddle him.

She did this gratefully, and Tegryn did likewise, both of them embracing each other softly. As the two of them remained in this warmest of hugs, Tegryn felt Irma's body give a little shudder, and he felt a tiny little splash of water landing on his bare shoulder. He pushed her away slightly just so he could look at her face - sure enough, her big azure eyes were rapidly filling up with tears.

"Hey silly, what's the matter?"

Irma gave an embarrassed giggle as she hurriedly wiped her face, never taking her eyes off Tegryn for a split second.

"Oh man, I'm sorry. It's just that... well... I hate seeing you like this. It's so..." she said, almost cheerfully at first before quickly breaking down. Tegryn once again pulled her to him as she sobbed uncontrollably in his arms.

"Sshhh, sshhhh! Come on now Irma. I'm gonna be alright." he said softly and soothingly into her ear as he stroked the soft thick waves of hair on the back of her head in an almost fatherly fashion. "I can already feel myself getting a little bit stronger, you know, and it's thanks to you. You're a little lifesaver!"

As he hugged her, he peered down at his leg to see what she had written. It was just one word - Irma - written in big letters, far bigger than anyone else's, complete with a typically Irma-esque smiley face in the middle of the A. Saying nothing, she hugged him just that little bit tighter, as tight as she thought he could bear anyway. Despite what he said to her back in Shadowhaunt, she still felt a major portion of blame for the shocking injuries he had suffered at the hands of Icy, and so she had been ever-mindful of his physical condition. So hearing him giving her credit for helping in his recovery made her incredibly happy.

"Little lifesaver, eh?" she said eventually. "I guess that makes you my big lifesaver!"

"Guess so!" he replied.

Their little moment was ended by Cornelia, who put her arm around Irma as though she was deliberately easing her away, before thrusting a shopping bag into her unsuspecting hands - the very same bag from that rather chic boutique in Aquisates in which they'd been maxing out Stella's credit cards before their shopping trip was rudely interrupted.

"Come on Irma. Time to go."

Right at that very moment, Tecna returned to the Infirmary, carrying a box.

"Before you go, here's a little present from all of us," she announced, opening it. Inside lay five mobile phones. "There - top of the range phones from my homeworld, one for each of you."

"Thanks Tecna," Will said as she took one. "Of course, we do have cells back home, you know."

"Ah, but do any of your phones provide inter-dimensional roaming?"

"Inter-DIMENSIONAL roaming?!"

"That's right. Now you'll be able to keep in touch with us from back on Earth!" Tecna said proudly. "And what's more, Digit here has taken the liberty of programming all our numbers into them."

"Really?" Irma said excitedly as she flicked through the contacts list. Sure enough, all their names were on there - Layla, Mimi, Musa, Nini, Sky, Stella, Tecna, Tegryn... - "This is so great. Thanks Tec!"

"You'd better keep in touch now, you hear?" Bloom called as they waved the five WITCH girls through a newly-opened portal. As the gateway closed, everyone in the Infirmary breathed a happy sigh. Despite the awful start to the day, everything had turned out okay.

Musa sat herself down on the bed next to Tegryn, playfully tousling his hair while she admired his new tattoo, with Polli nestling herself on his chest as they quietly fell into a blissful sleep, both quite worn out from the day's pain and emotional drama.

"Well, all's well that ends well," Tecna mused.

"Yeah, I guess," Musa sighed happily. "At least we get to go through a whole school year without any major creepy bad guys to worry about."

* * *

Musa couldn't have been more wrong. 

Far away in his castle on the world of Meridian, an enraged Prince Phobos paced up and down in his battle-damaged throne chamber while his loyal servant Cedric looked on from the shadows, more than slightly worried. His lord and master was newly-rejuvenated thanks to Darkar being forced to relinquish his ill-gotten power, and Cedric knew that he was itching to use them to devastating effect.

"Sire, if you wish I could have your armies ready for a major assault on the Guardians' homeworld. There is still no sign of their leader, and with them weakened we could..."

"SILENCE!" Phobos boomed, glaring angrily at Cedric, who quailed at this sight - the fires of vengeance were burning so brightly in the prince's eyes, they could have seared through his soul right there and then.

"I don't care about Earth, or the Guardians, or Kandrakar for that matter - they can wait!"

"But.. but Sire, what do you mean?" Cedric asked fearfully, half-expecting the prince to blast him out of the castle for even daring to disturb him in mid-rant.

"Lord Darkar and his minions. They will pay dearly for what they did to me. Right now, I only have one target - Shadowhaunt!"

* * *

**And so we've come to the end of the story, and I hope you've all enjoyed it. Some of the bits in this last chapter may have seemed a little inconsequential, but don't worry - they're simply setting the stage for future storylines.**

**Right, that's Part 5 out of the way - now to start writing Part 6...**


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